alfreda89: (Books and lovers)
alfreda89 ([personal profile] alfreda89) wrote2010-02-23 02:06 pm

Before I forget -- a review, and a book, you may want to read!

Writer Deborah J. Ross has a blog entry over at the Book View Cafe Blog on Jewish pirates in the Caribbean -- and trust me, you want to know about them! For those of you who missed this important event, in 1492 the Spaniards drove the Jews out of Spain -- and Portugal did the same five years later. The Inquisition was ramping up, too. Some Jews pretended to convert and hid their religion, while others fled. One of the places they ran to was the newly discovered Caribbean. They went in search of religious freedom, treasure -- and revenge. Some of them found all these things.

And in the end, with the help of Jewish pirates and several other nations, the Spanish Empire in the New World collapsed, cutting off their gold and eventually their empire. Certainly not what Spain thought would happen when they got rid of those nasty non-Christians.

At least read the review -- and there's a link to a video interview of the author, which Deborah says is a hoot.

Oh, go on and look! It's on my to-get list!

http://blog.bookviewcafe.com/2010/02/16/who-knew-the-secret-history-of-the-pirates-of-the-caribbean-or-what-disney-doesnt-want-you-to-know/

Video here: http://www.jewishpiratesofthecaribbean.com/