Loading...
52nd out of 168 books
—
196 voters
My rating:
add to my books
Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean: How a Generation of Swashbuckling Jews Carved Out an Empire in the New World in Their Quest for Treasure, Religious Freedom--and Revenge
At the end of the fifteenth century, the Spanish Inquisition forced many Jews to flee the country. The most adventurous among them took to the high seas as freewheeling outlaws. In ships bearing names such as the Prophet Samuel, Queen Esther, and Shield of Abraham, they attacked and plundered the Spanish fleet while forming alliances with other European powers to ensure th...more
Hardcover, 336 pages
Published
November 18th 2008
by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
(first published November 8th 2008)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
403)
I thought this was so interesting. It tied together for me a lot of pieces of information I had about the experiences of Jews in the New World, (and Amsterdam, England and Spain) from the time of their expulsion through the founding of this country. David Liss, if you haven't read this book, you need to... I was thinking about "Coffee Traders" the whole time I was reading this. Kritzler discovered a couple of new pieces of information through his research... which surprised me; it do...more
This book is about a small part in the vast history of the Jewish people. This is an incredible book with many fascinating characters their intrigue, exploration and adventure. The author focuses on the Jewish pirates as well as the legitimate Jewish seamen (such as pilots, navigators, etc.) since, let's face it, there is a reason you never heard of Jewish pirates - there weren't that many.
Actually, "legitimate" might not be a good word since at that time many pirates were state...more
Actually, "legitimate" might not be a good word since at that time many pirates were state...more
I'll start out with some things I liked about this book:
* I learned some interesting parts of history, such as that Jews were banned from Britain by King John, and let back in my Cromwell (unofficially), and Charles II (officially)
* I learned a bit about the spread of sugar, and that for a long time it was a delicacy only affordable to the very rich
* I got some leads on things I'd like to learn more about at some point, such as the history of Jamaica
...more
* I learned some interesting parts of history, such as that Jews were banned from Britain by King John, and let back in my Cromwell (unofficially), and Charles II (officially)
* I learned a bit about the spread of sugar, and that for a long time it was a delicacy only affordable to the very rich
* I got some leads on things I'd like to learn more about at some point, such as the history of Jamaica
...more
In 1492, the Jews were expelled from Spain. Some of them converted to Catholicism to avoid deportation. However, if they continued to practice their former religion, they became particular targets of the Inquisition. The author’s thesis is that part of Columbus’ agenda for his voyages was to find someplace where they could find refuge. The author presents a surprising amount of evidence for his case, especially in the history of Jamaica, which Columbus’ descendants kept free of the Inquisitio...more
Unexpectedly good, not-cheesy, and severely exciting.
Kritzler's portrait of the Jewish pirate, and more broadly, the Jewish entrepreneur of the period of Europe's mass expulsions and pogroms, has all the elements of a great tale, immediately evoking Chabon's novel of swashbuckling Jews, Gentlemen of the Road. However, Kitzler's book is hard to read, repetitive, switches tenses, and otherwise pulls the reader out of the narrative and into an irritated search for previous statements, chronology, and gist. If you can work around the problematic deliv...more
Christopher Columbus and Jean Lafitte were Jewish? You gotta be kiddin' me!
Edward Kritzler, author of The Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean, is not kidding. He documents his narrative of exiles searching for a safe harbor with forty-five pages of notes, a four page chronology, and a web site: http://jewishpiratesofthecaribbean.com/ . Sir Neville Noel Ashenheim, Jamacia's first Ambassador to the United States, verifies the genealogy of Columbus while a hand-written letter from Lafit...more
Edward Kritzler, author of The Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean, is not kidding. He documents his narrative of exiles searching for a safe harbor with forty-five pages of notes, a four page chronology, and a web site: http://jewishpiratesofthecaribbean.com/ . Sir Neville Noel Ashenheim, Jamacia's first Ambassador to the United States, verifies the genealogy of Columbus while a hand-written letter from Lafit...more
This is a real interesting book that I mostly recommend. Great kernels of information about the founding of Amsterdam's Jewish community, New York's first Jewish settlers, Jewish Brazil, the trips of Vasco Da Gama and Amerigo Vespuci, among others. Particular favorites were the mini-biography of Rabbi Samuel Palache in the middle; the explanation of Cromwell's role in the Jewish return to England; and the population transfer of Tortuga to Jamaica.
Still, there are details of this book...more
Still, there are details of this book...more
Fantastic swashbuckling tale of how a Jewish advisor to King Ferdinand convinced him to subsidize Christoper Columbus' voyages in the hopes Columbus would find a new land for the Spanish Jews, victims of the Inquisition, to settle. Along with Columbus, travel sons of Dutch Jewish merchants who settle islands in the Caribbean, notably southern Jamaica and bring their trading success to that island, plot with the British and Dutch to overthrow the Spanish and alternately duck, dodge, intermarry o...more
Terrible, just terrible. At first, I was enchanted with the idea of swashbuckling Jews. Upon starting the book, I felt bereft and indignant. Kritzler is among the worst of historians. He makes almost no mention of slavery and genocide, enterprises at the heart of imperialism. Instead of examining the manner in which Jews, seeking survival in the wake of their expulsion from Spain and the globalization of the Inquisition, worked within this system of carnage, he deigns to mention pacified na...more
Not a book I intend to keep. I found this hard to read - There was very little story, and mostly just historical facts. I mean, I know that this is a book of non-fiction, but it was mostly almost like a list of "this happened, then this person showed up, and they went here." I think this period of history would have been better served by including some points of interest. I'm sure they are out there. So, while the book was on an interesting topic, it wasn't put together to my liki...more
I wanted this book to be SO AWESOME. I mean, are you kiding me?! I saw it as I was walking out of the bookstore and I ended up going back and buying it without really looking at it. But, come on, clearly this book was going to be amazing!
But then in the car I started reading the foreword/introduction bit, and I was pretty immediately appalled. The book was pretty poorly written, and the premise was just really really weird and crackpot-ish.
My comment to Caryl sums it up p...more
But then in the car I started reading the foreword/introduction bit, and I was pretty immediately appalled. The book was pretty poorly written, and the premise was just really really weird and crackpot-ish.
My comment to Caryl sums it up p...more
view 2 comments
This was particularly fun for me, because I am partially descended from a one of these folks, and we did always wondered what a Jewish girl was doing in the Caribbean. It is a little laudatory towards the tribe, actually crediting them with the overthrow of the Spanish Empire, it is a neat little historical piece, with some really excellent research on a rather obscure topic. The last few chapters wander from the subject and detract a bit, but it's still a fun and informative book.
Misleading title.
This book is about Jews and other historical figures and there involvement not only in the Caribbean but also in the New World, Africa, Netherlands, Spain, France and England.
And it's not just about Jewish pirates either. A good deal of the book is about pioneers, survival, trade, and politics.
Overall this is still a good book packed with many stories worth reading.
This book is about Jews and other historical figures and there involvement not only in the Caribbean but also in the New World, Africa, Netherlands, Spain, France and England.
And it's not just about Jewish pirates either. A good deal of the book is about pioneers, survival, trade, and politics.
Overall this is still a good book packed with many stories worth reading.
The information in this book gets five stars. I learned a lot about the Spanish inquisition and history of the Caribbean, as well as the spread of the Sephardic Jews in the Americas. Fascinating stuff!
The writing gets two stars maybe. The switching back and forth in time and place I found disorienting. The whole bit about Columbus' mine could have been ommitted.
The writing gets two stars maybe. The switching back and forth in time and place I found disorienting. The whole bit about Columbus' mine could have been ommitted.
This book is an excellent non-fictional treatment of the expansion of the Jewish marranos from the Spanish and Portuguese expulsions and inquisitions. It answers several historical questions that were not available when I wrote "Golden Bracelets, Common Threads", a historical fictional novel covering the same time period.
Steven A. Vajda
Steven A. Vajda
Oh my God -- if you have any interest in pirates, Jews, history, or lost treasure, you have to read this thing. (I bet you didn't know there were pirate Rabbis, did you? Me neither!) Dense in places, but very readable overall, Kritzler whips from the Iberian peninsula to Brazil, Amsterdam, England, and the Spanish Main. Those crazy Sephardim.
Ben Pashkoff
added it
Really great history of the Jews from Spain/Portugal and involvement in the exploration of the "New World". Jews appear to have been involved in the mercantile and shipping industries from a very early time. There was a Jewish Promised land, and while Amsterdam was a safe haven, it should have been Jamaica, Mon!!
I got this for the holidays. Decently written and an interesting history. He isn't a true historian, more of a journalist, and sometimes it seems like the sources are more inconclusive than he makes them out to be. As a Jewish sailor though, how could one pass up a book with this kind of title.
Mason
added it
A community of really interesting tidbits drowning in a warm sea of lousy editing. The stories speak to an aspect of the European invasion I had never previously considered, but it is a grueling trip. There are not many books on Caribbean history out there, but this is barely worth the struggle.
This is a fascinating book, recommended for anyone who is interested in the European Age of Discovery. The little known story of the contributions made by Jews fleeing the Inquisition will be of interest to any history buff, and deserves to be much more widely known.
Very interesting. He shows the connection between the Inquisitions and the movements of the Jewish population is interconnected. I wish tat he had spent more time dealing with some of the 'lesser' islands and not deal almost exclusively with Jamaica.
Liz
Liz
Loved this book and it sent me cruising for related literature; apparently a few years there was a major exhibit and scholarly conference on Rabbi Samuel Pallache -- lots of great books on this. Now...all we need is for someone to discover the Pirate Haggadah.
The subject of this book is absolutely fascinating. The execution, however, was lacking. It is apparent that Kritzler did his research, but he needed a better editor. I found myself flipping pages back and forth trying to follow his train of thought.
So the Cohen Rodriquez brothers Moses and Abraham were inspired by a Pirate Rabbi that had been a pilot for the Barbary pirate, Barbarossa. They went to Brazil for the sugar trade, started the first synagogue in the New World there until the Inquisition caught up with them. They ended up in the Caribbean Island of Jamaica where they plied their trade skills when Henry Morgan the pirate was governor of Jamaica. And tried to take one of Spain's treasure ships. This book is not a historical novel, ...more
The author made a book about pirates,of all things, boring and tedious. As he wrote on page 231: The setting cries out for a good novelist. And so did this book. This was dull and lifeless; the title is more exciting than anything I read here.
Arggggggggggg!
Ahoy me matey's. What we be havin' here be a book about gentleman o' fortunes (aka pirates aka bucaneers aka eye patch wearing, cutlass wielding, peg leg walking humanoids) an' rather bad one at that! I be hopin' fer a good story full o' adventure on th' high seas, instead I got a long winded history lesson which port me wi' nay booty t' keep. Gar.
Sea dogs, like vampires, be pretty much th' "in" thin' starboard now. So when me first see' this har b...more
Ahoy me matey's. What we be havin' here be a book about gentleman o' fortunes (aka pirates aka bucaneers aka eye patch wearing, cutlass wielding, peg leg walking humanoids) an' rather bad one at that! I be hopin' fer a good story full o' adventure on th' high seas, instead I got a long winded history lesson which port me wi' nay booty t' keep. Gar.
Sea dogs, like vampires, be pretty much th' "in" thin' starboard now. So when me first see' this har b...more
Tamara
added it
This was a wonderfully informative book about the impact of Jews on international trade. Constantly running from the Inquisition and persecutions of all types, the Jews found a way to rebuild their society again and again.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I was a little mired in the end notes and all the characters, but I learned a lot about this period of history, which is often glossed over in history courses, despite our undying fascination with Columbus and the age of exploration.
This is really the story about how the Jews, driven from country to country in Europe, seize the opportunity to explore the new world in the hopes of finding a safe refuge where they can live and work without the constant fea...more
This is really the story about how the Jews, driven from country to country in Europe, seize the opportunity to explore the new world in the hopes of finding a safe refuge where they can live and work without the constant fea...more
Who knew? But not a total surprise, especially in light of history here that dovetails perfectly with that described in "The People of the Book" and the David Liss novels. Might Columbus himself have been a converso?
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
