FOCUS

L

ast Monday, the
United States cele-
brated Columbus
Day. Unfortunately,
most Americans were
totally unaware of
the vital contributions made
by Jews to Columbus' historic
voyages of discovery.

In 1486, Columbus had his
first meeting with King Fer-
dinand and Queen Isabella.
Three Sephardic friends of
the explorer helped make his
trip possible — Don Isaac
Abranel, Luis de Santangel
and Abraham Zacuto.
Almost every schoolchild
knows how Queen Isabella
pawned her jewelry to raise
funds for Columbus' voyage
of discovery. However, schol-
ars indicate that it was ac-
tually Spanish (Sephardic)
Jewry rather than Isabella's
jewelry that made the trip
possible. The Queen had al-
ready pledged her jewels to
finance recently completed
military campaigns. Actually,
it was Luis de Santangel,
Comptroller-General to Ferdi-
nand and Isabella, who lent
nearly five million maravedis
that assured the voyage of
1492. This is proven beyond
question by Santangel's
original account books which
are still preserved in the Ar-
chivo de Indias in Seville.
Luis de Santangel was a
member of the noble Chinillo
family; his grandfather had
converted from Judaism to
Christianity under pressure
of the Spanish persecutions
of 1413-1414. Columbus'
biographer John Thacher
wrote that "When the craze
against the Jews was at its
height in Spain; when perse-
cution sorely tormented them,
when their property was con-
fiscated and their lives in
peril, many apostatized and
pretended to accept the
Christian faith. Few of these
conversions were real." Thus,
it is not surprising that
numerous members of the
distinguished Santangel
family were executed over the
years for continuing to
observe their orginal faith.
Luis de Santangel not only
owed his royal majesty King
Ferdinand his eminent posi-
tion but also his life, for
without the king's direct in-
tervention, Luis and his
children would have shared
the fate of his uncle and many
other relatives.
Santangel's influence with
Ferdinand and Isabella was

Was It Sephardic Jewry,
Rather Than Isabella's
Jewelry, That Made
Columbus' Voyage Possible?

Scholars indicate that the Queen of Spain
had already pawned her jewels to finance
military campaigns, and that it was her
comptroller-general, a nobleman of
Jewish lineage, who put up the money.

decisive in gaining their ac-
ceptance of Columbus's pro-
posals. In recognition of his
assistance, Santangel was the
first to hear of the historic
discoveries from Columbus, in
a letter written on February
18, 1493.
One day after Columbus
sailed from Spain, another
group left — the Jews — who
were expelled in spite of the
substantial contributions
made over generations to the
culture and well-being of the
country. This same Luis de
Santangel made substantial
contributions toward the hire
of ships that enabled his
former co-religionists to leave
their longtime homeland.
Another of Columbus' stal-
wart friends was Don Isaac
Abravanel, who had remained
steadfast in his religion, and
who was one of the most
distinguished Biblical
scholars, philosophers and
statesmen of this period.
While still a younster,
Abravanel composed a
treatise on providence and
prophesy, and at the age of 25
he gave discourses on the
Book of Deuteronomy. When

his father died, Don Isaac
succeeded him as treasurer of
King Alfonso V of Portugal.
Shortly after the death of
Alfonso, Abravanel entered
the service of Ferdinand and
Isabella of Castile in 1484.
His activities were of the
widest scope, combining
studious endeavors, financial
acumen and service to the
state. Abravanel loaned the
royal treasury 11/2 million
gold ducats to finance the
war with Granada (1491-1492)
and helped finance Colum-
bus' voyage. • But in spite of
his learning and exalted posi-
tion, when the edict of expul-
sion for Spanish Jewry had
been signed on March 31,
1492, Abravanel, too, had to
leave, taking only 1000 gold
ducats with him.
The Jewish expulsion took
place the day before Colum-
bus sailed, on the ninth of Ab
according to the Hebrew
calendar . . . the day of

4

Continued on next page

73

