Jews worked as agents for enemy nations of Spain and outsmarting and outdoing Spanish trade in the free world - all of which helped to break the Spanish empire and the evil Inquisition it spread around the world.
It was 1492, on Tisha B'av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar when Spanish Jews were faced with fleeing Spain or being forced to convert to Catholicism.
The Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions were cruel and deadly. Some Jews fled for their lives, but most had nowhere to go. Piracy was one method of revenge. Jews living under Spanish colonial rule worked with more tolerant countries like Holland and England, which were enemies of Spain, and helped them fight the Spanish. The Jews knew which Spanish ships were carrying looted gold and silver back to Spain.
The Jews became masters in cartography, in mapping out the oceans - using astronomy to navigate missions on high seas, engineering technical instruments that few sea captains had - and in trade, and thus ensured their survival in a hostile and Jew-hating world on both sides of the Atlantic.
These Jews who would otherwise have been murdered by the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitors escaped their clutches and even prospered, by their bold and brave actions. They enriched the New World's colonies, especially the colonies owned by European countries that were open to letting Jews live as Jews in religious freedom.
-Edward Kritzler
Artisan Avi Celebrates the Pirate Jews of the Carribean with these large commemorative Silver coins and hand painted plaques. Climb aboard and feast your eyes on these wonderful depictions of Judaic History.
