by
Joseph Adler
Midstream 43:25 November 1998
(https://web.archive.org/web/20110807040934/http://www.saudades.org/ccolumbusvoyage.html)
The
most dramatic and best known of the voyages of exploration was, of course, the
one made by Columbus in 1492. The journey was spectacular not only for its
length and daring, but because it led to one of the biggest surprises in
history - the discovery of America. All of the biographers of Columbus
recognize this great feat, but many are rather reticent concerning the
discoverer's early years and ancestry. Indeed, many scholars shrink from the
possibility that yje great explorer may have had Jewish ancestors. There is
however, little controversy that the epoch-making expedition was largely made
possible by Jews, New Christians (i.e., Conversos ) and Marranos ( nominally
Conversos who secretly retained their allegiance to Judaism). There were many of
them.
In
Lisbon, Columbus knew and consulted with Joseph Diego Mendes Vezinho ( 1450 -
1520 ), a Jewish scientist and cosmographer at the Portuguese court. Vezinho,
who was later to convert to Christianity, headed a committee of savants and
experts on nautical matters chosen to consider Columbus's proposed expedition
of discovery. In his work for the Portuguese monarch, Vezinho had helped
develop a new and improved astronomical calendar, star tables, and more
efficient nautical instruments. Although Vezinho did not favor Columbus's plan,
his work for establishing direction and location at sea would prove of
inestimable value to the future discoverer of the New World.
Columbus
also derived valuable information from Avraham Zacuto ( c. 1450 - 1515 ), a
product of the "juderia" of Saragossa, who would be forced by the
expulsion of Jews from Spain to flee to Portugal. While still a professor at
the University of Salamanca, Zacuto had achieved fame as a scientist, mathematician,
and inventor. He is credited with constructing the first metal astrolabe as
well as the development of astronomical tables that gave the exact hours for
the rising of the planets and fixed stars. His table of ephemeredes was
translated into Latin by Vezinho and published under the titile 'Almanach
Perpetuum'. This invaluable guide to navigation was used by Columbus on his
voyage across the Atlantic. Zacuto met Columbus prior to his first voyage and
endorsed the venture, but considered the expedition to be an extremely
hazardous undertaking.
Columbus's
navigational skills also owed much to the inventiveness of a handful of Jewish
scholars of the Middle Ages. Outstanding among the latter was Levi ben Gershon
( 1288 - 1344 ), Biblical commentator, mathematician, and astronomer. Levi was
the inventor of the cross - staff, better known as "baculus Jacob" (
Jacob's staff ). This simple instrument enabled mariners to measure angular
separation between two celestial bodies. Still another nautical instrument
available to Columbus was the "quadrant Judaicus", the brainchild of
Jacob ben Machir ibn Tibbon ( 1236 - 1307 )
Indeed,
virtually all the nautical aids used by Columbus were the products of Jewish
minds. Many of the discoverer's maps, for example, were the creation of Jehudah
Cresques ( c. 1360 -? ), at one time head of the National Academy of Palma on
Majorca ( a center of Jewish cartography during the 14th century ). In the
persecutions of 1391, Cresques was forced to convert to Christianity and was
given a new name - Jayme Ribes. He entered the service of the king of Portugal
and became the director of the School of Navigation at Sagres - the institution
founded by Henry the Navigator that marked the beginning of the Age of
Discovery.
In
1485, Columbus suddenly left Portugal for Spain. Almost immediately, he began a
search for a sponsor for his proposed voyage of discovery. After several
frustrating false starts, he appealed to a nobleman of Andalusia, Luis de
Cerda, the count of Medici -Celi. De Credo's hospitality was legendary, and he
took Columbus under his wing, sheltering the mariner for almost two years. The
count also offered to outfit three ships for Columbus's contacts, Luis de Cerda
recommended him to his cousin, Cardinal Pedro Ganzales de Mendoza, bishop of
Toledo. The cardinal and the count were related through the same Jewish
grandmother, and both men had been subjected to attacks because of their
descent.
De
Mendoza, in his capacity as chairman of a special commission that met to
consider the merits of Columbus's plans, heartily endorsed the mariner's
proposals. His cousin, Luis de Cerda, also continued to lobby on behalf of
Columbus; he sent a strong letter to the Spanish monarchs urging them to
reconsider their opposition to Columbus's proposals and, at the very least, to
grant the mariner an audience. De Cerda's appeal yielded results, and in 1486,
Columbus was granted a royal audience at Cordoba. Queen Isabella and King
Ferdinand were not entirely convinced by Columbus's presentation but agreed to
submit his project to a commission of scholars. To head the commission Isabella
chose her confessor, Hernando de Talavera ( 1428 - 1507 ), prior of the Prado
and later archbishop of Granada. Hernando de Talavera was the grandson of a
Jewish woman and in his declining years, would be accused of being a Marrano
and was brought before the Inquisition. Humiliated, and unable to counter the
vicious proceedings of the court headed by Rodriquez Lucerno, the inquisitor of
Cordoba, the proud Hernando would die of mortification. Columbus himself suffered
patiently for several years, as the so-called experts of the de Talavera
commission debated endlessly the feasibility of his proposals ( they eventually
rejected his plan.)
It
was during these early years of tribulation in Spain that Columbus gained the
support of two highly placed and influential Jews - Abraham Senior and Isaac
Abravanel. Senior ( 1412 - 1493 ), during the reign of Isabells's predecessor,
King Henry 1V of Castile, had served as chief tax collector of the kingdom and
was appointed by the monarch to head the Jewish community of Segovia. Along
with a number of other influential Jews, Senior had played a key role in
arranging the marriage of Isabella to Ferdinand of Aragon. Some years later, in
the power struggle between Isabella and her brother, King Henry 1V, Senior,
together with a few other notables, succeeded in convincing the commander of
the fortress of Segovia to hand over the city to Isabella and her consort. This
act opened the way for the unification of Castile and Aragon and, eventually
all of Spain.
Once
in power, the grateful Catholic monarchs rewarded Senior by appointing him
"rab de la corte," i.e., court rabbi and supreme judge of the Jews of
Castile. He also received a large pension and was exempted from the
restrictions in dress that had been imposed on Spanish Jewry. In 1468, Senior
was made treasurer general of the Hermanded, a semi- military organization
formed for the maintenance of law and order. In addition, as factor general to
the Spanish army, Senior played a major role in facilitating the conquest of
Grenada, the last remaining stronghold of the Moors in Spain.
Tradition
has it that Senior met Columbus at Malaga, at which time the future admiral
outlined his plan to the Jewish courtier. Columbus was well aware that his
proposed expedition would require large financial commitments and welcomed the
promise of the support of Senior.
Don
Isaac ben Judah Abravanel ( 1437 - 1508 ) a close associate of Senior, was
another supporter of Columbus at the Spanish court. Born in Lisbon, Isaac was a
child prodigy. His many talents eventually attracted the attention of King
Alfonso of Portugal, and he became the latter's advisor, as well as the
kingdom's financial minister. However, Abravanel's life took an unexpected turn
with the death of his royal patron. The new king suspected Abravanel of being
involved in an insurrection against his regime led by the duke of Braganca.
Abravanel, fearing for his life, fled to Spain (Toledo). When Ferdinand and
Isabella learned of his presence in their realm, they invited him to join their
court. Some time later, Senior enlisted his aid in tax farming the kingdom's
revenues. Abravanel gradually amassed a great personal fortune and loaned
enormous sums to the Catholic monarchs in their war against the Moors of
Granada. Indeed, it was shortly after the fall of Malaga that Abravanel, in the
company of his friend, Senior, met Columbus and was first exposed to the
latter's plan for a voyage of discovery across the Atlantic. Although Abravanel
favored the mariner's plan, his support would come to an abrupt halt following
the issuance of the edict of expulsion of Spanish Jewry in 1492.
Abravanel,
in spite of pressure from Ferdinand and Isabella to convert to Christianity,
remained steadfast in his beliefs and immigrated to Naples. When theKingdom of
Naples, in 1494, fell to King Charles V111 of France, Abravanel accompanied the
deposed Neapolitan monarch, whom he had served as treasurer, into exile in
Sicily. After the death of the former Neapolitan ruler, Abravanel moved to
Corfu and, in 1496, returned to Naples. Some years later, at the urging of his
son, Joseph, he settled in Venice, where he served as a diplomat for the
republic until his death in 1508.
Abraham
Senior, who had served the Catholic majesties so faithfully for many years, was
at first given permission to leave Spain with whatever personal possessions he
wished to take along with him. However, steady pressure was exerted by Isabella
and Ferdinand for Senior to convert. The queen, in particular, threatened to
impose further reprisals against the departing Jews, and Senior, too old and
tired to fight any longer, accepted baptism and was allowed to remain in Spain.
Taking the name Fernando Munez Coronel, he was further rewarded for his apostasy
by being appointed "regidor of Segovia" (governor) and made a member
of the royal council, as well as chief financial administrator to the crown
prince. He died shortly afterwards in 1493.
Among
Columbus's highly placed patrons was Luis de Santangel, a member of one of the
wealthiest and influential families of Aragon. An ancestor, Azarias Chinillo,
had converted to Christianity in the early years of the 15th century in the
wake of the persecutions against the Jews led by the fanatical Dominican friar,
Vincent Ferrer. Azarias would become bishop of Majorca.
Luis
de Santangel began his career as a tax farmer and courtier. A favorite of King
Ferdinand, he was appointed in 1481 'escribano de racion', a kind of
comptroller general, to the royal house of Aragon. He would also later hold the
post of 'contador mayor' (paymaster general) for Castile.
Although
nominally New Christians, the Santangel family's attachment to Catholicism was
at best lukewarm, and its members were among the early targets of the Inquisition.
Indeed, a kinsman of Luis was accused of complicity in the murder of Pedro de
Arbues, canon of the Cathedral of Saragossa and the heart and soul of the
Inquisition in Aragon. The kinsman was also charged and condemned for being a
secret Jew ( i.e., a Marrano .)
In
July of 1491, Luis de Santangel was also accused of being a Marrano. King
Ferdinand intervened on his behalf and managed to stop the Inquisition's
proceedings.
Luis
de Santangel first met Columbus in 1486 and was greatly impressed by the
latter's personality and plans for a voyage of discovery. When, some years
later, word reached him that Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand had once again
rejected Columbus's project and had sent him on his way, Santangel immediately
requested and received an audience with Her Majesty. With great eloquence, he
pleaded for Columbus's voyage of discovery and prevailed upon the queen to have
the mariner brought back to the court for further discussions. The queen
agreed, and a bewildered Columbus was brought back to the court to once again
present arguments for his proposed expedition of discovery.
Anticipating
the royal couple's anxiety on how to finance a voyage across the Atlantic,
Santangel reminded the monarchs that the Santa Hermandad, of which he was one
of treasurers, had a large endowment that could be borrowed against. He also
indicated to the Spanish rulers that he was willing to back the Columbus
expedition with a considerable sum from his personal fortune. ( He would later
also call upon his Converso friends to contribute toward the financing of the
expedition.) The tax farmer also reminded Ferdinand and Isabella of an
overlooked debt to the Crown. It seems that the community of Palos on the
southern coast of Castile had been found guilty of smuggling, and a fine had
been levied against it that had gone uncollected. The town owed the Crown three
months of service and two caravels. Santangel's arguments proved to be the
decisive factor in swaying the Spanish sovereigns to back Columbus's project. A
grateful Columbus would not forget his benefactor. It was to Luis de Santangel
that he addressed the famous letter announcing his discoveries. Indeed, Queen
Isabella and King Ferdinand would first hear of the successful undertaking from
the lips of Santangel.
An
identical letter was sent by Columbus to Gabriel Sanchez, one of the three
influential New Christians that Luis de Santangel had gotten to help finance
the explorer's initial voyage. grabriel Sanchez (d. 1505)
was
the high treasurer of the Kingdom of Aragon, and a member of a distinguished
family of Conversos who traced their origins back to a Jew named Alazar Goluff
of Saragossa. After the murder of the inquisitor Pedro de Arbues, three of the
brothers of Gabriel Sanchez - Juan, Alfonso, and Guillen - were accused of
having participated in the conspiracy to eliminate the Inquisitor. Juan managed
to escape but was condemned to death in effigy. Alfonso, who was also accused
of being a Marrano, managed to flee Aragon before the Inquisition could lay
hands on him. The third brother, Guillen, was allowed by the Inquisition to
repent. The father-in-law of Gabriel Sanchez, also implicated in the murder
plot, was less fortunate than Guillen. He was charged with Judaizing and
sentenced to death.
Grave
charges were also brought against Gabriel Sanchez. He was accused of having
participated in the conspiracy that led to the murder of Pedro de Arbues. Since
the allegations could not be proved, and Sanchez continued to have the support
of King Ferdinand, he was able to survive the efforts of the Inquisition to tar
him as a heretic and backslider.
As
in the case of Luis de Santangel, Columbus regarded gariel Sanchez as one of
his staunchest supporters. The letter the discoverer sent to Sanchez describing
the findings of the first voyage to the New World was reproduced by the high
treasurer, and a copy was forwarded to his brother, Juan, in Florence. The
latter passed it on to his cousin Lenardo de Cosco, a Marrano, who translated
it into Latin and had it published. Within a year, the Latin translation ran
through nine editions, thus spreading the news of the New World throughout
Europe.
Still
another of Columbus's highly placed patrons was Alfonso de la Caballeria. He
was the descendant of a Jewish family that had achieved prominence in Spain as
early as the 13th century. During the course of the 15th century, a family
schism occurred, and eight of the nine sons of the head of the household
converted to Christianity. In the succeeding generations, many members of the
family achieved fame and fortune in the service of the state and the Church. At
the same time, by marriage, the de la Caballeria clan became closely allied
with almost all the major Converso families in Spain.
Alfonso,
like his father before him, started his career as a counselor at the court of
Aragon and rose rapidly through the ranks of the bureaucracy. In the 1480's, he
was appointed vice-chancellor of aragon. Nevertheless, in spite of his high
office, he was not immune from investigation by the Inquisition. He was accused
of having been involved in the Pedro de Arbues conspiracy. Allegations
concerning other members of Alfonso's family, many of whom were suspected of
being Marranos, were also introduced by the tribunal. Thus, Alfonso's father,
Pedro, although long deceased, was described by one Inquisition witness as
having posed as a Christian who frequently reverted in thoughts and deeds to
his ancestral traditions. Still other members of the de la Caballeria clan were
accused of still maintaining close ties with the synagogue and the Jewish
community.
The
judicial proceedings initiated by the Inquisition would drag on for 20 years.
Finally, in 1501, the papacy confirmed Alfonso de la Caballeria's Catholic
orthodoxy, and he was completely exonerated. However, the toll of the prolonged
trail had been high. He was unable, for example, to prevent the Inquisition's
exhumation of the bones of his grandmother, or his wife's appearance as a
penitent in an 'auto-da-fe, or the burning of his brother Jaime in effigy.
Completing
the list of powerful Conversos who rendered financial support to Columbus when
it was most desperately needed, is that of Juan Cabrero, royal chamberlain of
King Ferdinand. He was regarded as one of the king's most faithful and trusted
retainers. Carero had fought at Fernando's side in the war against the Moors
and was an intimate friend as well as advisor to the monarch. However, even
this high-placed New Christian official's family could not escape the tentacles
of the Inquisition. Juan's grandfather, Sancho de Patenoy, the grand treasurer
of Aragon, was accused in the Arbues conspiracy and sentenced to death. Juan
Cabrero, using all his influence at court, managed with great difficulty to
have the verdict changed to life imprisonment.
In
addition to Luis de Santangel, Alfonso de la Caballeria, and Juan Sanchez, two
other individuals merit attention as supporters of Columbus at the Spanish
court. They are Marchioness de Moya, and Juan de Coloma. De Moya, a close
friend and confidant of Queen Isabella, it is widely believed, was a member of
a Marrano family. Although hard evidence is lacking, it is known that the
marchioness associated with Marranos and Conversos and on several occasions,
intervened to save such individuals, from the Inquisition.
Juan
de Coloma, a royal secretary, had a hand in drawing up the contract between Columbus
and the Catholic monarchs. Although one of the few high officials of "Old
Christian" stock involved with the initial expedition of Columbus, his
wife was a New Christian - a member of the Caballeria family.
Columbus's
connections with the Jews, New Christians, and Marranos, was not limited to
court officials. There is the controversial matter that some of his shipmates
were of Jewish stock. Five crew members are generally singled out for this
distinction; Alonso de la Calle, a bursar, who eventually settled in Hispaniola
and whose very name indicates that he was born in the Jewish quarter; Rodrigo
de Sanchez of Segovia, who was related to Gabriel sanchez, the high treasurer
of Aragon; Marco, the surgeon; Maestre Bernal of Tortosa, a physician who had been
reconciled by the Inquisition in 1490, but was forced to witness his wife's
death at the stake of an auto-da-fe, and Luis de Torres, the official
interpreter of the expedition, who had been baptized a few days before the
fleet sailed. Torres had been specifically appointed by Columbus as interpreter
because he knew Hebrew, Chaldean and arabic. This knowledge was expected to
prove useful if the voyagers came across 'Asiatic" descendants of the Ten
Last Tribes of Israel.
Prior
to his conversion, Luis de Torres had been employed as an interpreter by Juan
Chacon, the governor of Murcia ( a province with a large Jewish population ).
Since Columbus's first voyage coincided with the expulsion of the Jews from
Spain, Luis's job with the governor was obviously over. There were no longer
any Jews for whom he might have interpreted in their audience with the
governor.
When
Columbus discovered Cuba, he was convinced that he had found Marco Polo's
Cinpangu (Japan). The "admiral", however, was puzzled that there were
no silk clad sages, or palaces tiled with gold to be seen anywhere.
Accordingly, he decided to dispatch an embassy into the interior of the island,
where he believed the cities were located. Tolead the mission, he chose Luis de
Torres. The interpreter was given a Latin passport, which he was to present to
the chief of the natives ("the Great Khan"), as well as gifts. He
also carried letters of credence from Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. An
able-bodied seaman named Rodrigo de Jerez was chosen to accompany Torres. Two
native Arawak Indian guides rounded out the embassy.
The
mission into the island's interior proved disappointing to Columbus, for the
group found nothing resembling an imperial city, or gold. However, Torres did
bring back a fairly comprehensive report of the native people he and Rodrigo
had encountered, their customs and manners, as well as a description of some of
the island's fauna and flora. Among the wonders that Torres had noted was a
strange practice of the natives to put thin rolls of dried leaves ( tobacco)
into their nostrils or mouths, lighting them, and blowing out smoke.
Although
Luis de Torres's linguistic skills proved useless in carrying out his mission,
the resourceful interpreter, not understanding the Amerindian dialect, fell
back upon sign language to carry out his instructions. Torres would later seek
permission to settle in Cuba as a royal agent. His request was granted with an
annual pension from the Crown. By cultivating his friendship with the native
ruler of the island, Torres would, in time, aquire large tracts of land and
carve out for himself a small empire. He was the first European to visit the
inhabitants of the New World in their native setting, and the first to describe
their life before it was corrupted by contact with the white man.
Scholars
have long squabbled over the question as to why high-placed New Christians and
Jews were willing to take on the enormous risk of financing Columbus's initial
expedition. One possible explanation that has been suggested is that the
discoverer and his patrons had a deep and ineradicable impulse to help their
fellow Jews, or in the case of the Conversos such as Luis de Santangel, Alfonso
de la Caballeria, and Juan Sanchez, their former co-religionists to whom they
still felt linked.
A
biographer of Columbus, John Boyd Thatcher, putting it more succinctly, has
written; "that the triumph of Columbus ---- was the triumph of the
Converso Luis de Santangel, visionary and champion of the perennial lost cause
of history --- the cause of the Jews." Other writers ( notably Salvador de
Madariaga and Simon Wiesenthal) have speculated that the longings of the
Conversos who supported Columbus may have run parallel to the dreams of the
discoverer himself, namely, an obsessive dream to find a refuge for the Jews in
the lands that he hoped to find across the Atlantic.
What
ever the truth, it is a fact that many Marranos and Conversos listened to the
tales emanating from the New World following Columbus's epic voyages and
flocked to the lands that he had claimed for Iberia. They had board ships
secretly, for officially they were strictly forbidden to set foot in the new
territories. However, disregarding all the bans and harbor controls, they made
their way across the ocean, where they hoped to make a new life.
Joseph
Adler, an historian, is the author of 'The Herzl Paradox' and articles that
have appeared in the Herzl Yearbook
Sources:
1
Amber, Jane Francis, Christopher Columbus's Jewish Roots.Northvale, NJ: Jason
Aronson, Inc.,
1991
2
Baer, Yitzhak. A History of the Jews in Christian Spain.2 vols., Philadelphia:
The Jewish Publication
Society of America.1961
3
Birmingham, Stephen, The Grandees, New York: Harper & Row.1971
4 Burgos, Francisco Cantera, Abraham Zacuto,
Madrid: M Aguilar.1935
5 Costa, Abel Fontoura da, L'Almanach Perpetuum de
Abraham Zacuto:Congress International
d'Histoire des Sciences.1936 pp 137-146
6
Cohen, Martin A, Joseph Vezinho, Encyclopaedia Judaica vol.16.Jerusalem Keter
Publishing
House.1971 pp 81-82
7
Heinrich Graetz, History of the Jews, 5 vols. Philadelphia;The Jewish
Publication Society of
America.1956
8
Keller, Werner, Diaspora. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1969
9
Lebeson, Anita L. Jewish Cartographers, A forgotten Chapter of Jewish history. History
Judaica X1,
1949. pp 155/174
10
Lebeson, Anita l. Pilgrim People. New York: Minerva Press 1975
11
Minkin, Jacob S. Abrabanel and the Expulsion of the Jews feom Spain: New York
Berman's
Jewish Book House. 1938
12
Morison, Samuel E. Portuguese Voyages to America in the Fifteenth Century.
Cambridge: Harvard
Univ.Press.1940
13
Morison, Samuel E. Admiral of the Ocean Sea, 2 vols. Boston: Little, Brown
Company.1942
14
Roth, Cecil. A History of the Marranos. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication
Society of America.
1932
15
On the statement referring to the triumph of Luis de Santangel, see J Boyd
Thatcher, Christopher
Columbus, His Life, His Work, His Remains.
vol.1 New York: GP Putnam's Sons.1903-04 p 459
16
Simon Wiesenthal, Sails of Hope: The secret Mission of Columbus. New
York: Macmillan
Publishing
Company.1973
Published in Midstream - November 1998
Fuente: https://web.archive.org/web/20110807040934/http://www.saudades.org/ccolumbusvoyage.html
