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 [Paperback]

Edward Kritzler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 3, 2009

In this lively debut work of history, Edward Kritzler tells the tale of an unlikely group of swashbuckling Jews who ransacked the high seas in the aftermath of the Spanish Inquisition. At the end of the fifteenth century, many Jews had to flee Spain and Portugal. The most adventurous among them took to the 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 the safety of Jews living in hiding. Filled with high-sea adventures–including encounters with Captain Morgan and other legendary pirates–Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean reveals a hidden chapter in Jewish history as well as the cruelty, terror, and greed that flourished during the Age of Discovery.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Historian and journalist Kritzler brings the political and religious ramifications of Caribbean pirating into a whole new context while explaining how the Jewish diaspora funded piracy to advance their religious (and financial) freedom in the New World. Through a deft combination of factual overview and anecdotes involving some of the more colorful figures of the time, Kritzler paints a unique picture of this perhaps over-exposed period of history. For centuries in Europe, Jews were shunted from country to country, exploited by penurious rulers for their financial acumen and promptly persecuted after the country became solvent (most egregiously in Spain). By financing piracy, the Jews ensured their own survival, as well as monopolizing the most lucrative income sources Europe had seen in centuries. While figures like Henry Morgan and Barbarossa will leap out at readers familiar with pirate lore, the little-known "pirate rabbi" Samuel Palache will excite just as much interest. Though Kritzler tends to leap from topic to topic, he covers an impressive interdisciplinary range-combining politics, economics and religion-that should satisfy fans of religious history and swashbuckling true stories.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Perhaps this entertaining and surprising book is an example of ethnic-identity chest-thumping gone wild, but, yes, there really were Jewish pirates who ran amok, sort of, on the Spanish Main in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Most of them were Sephardic Jews whose ancestors had been expelled from Spain or Portugal, and revenge was certainly a motivation for some. Their natural allies were England and the Dutch Republic, and the major characters were less freewheeling buccaneers than paid privateers. This is a wide-ranging saga filled with attractive and repellant personalities, including a warrior rabbi, a shady arms dealer, and loathsome Spanish inquisitors. Pirates and their exploits lend themselves to over-the-top romantic fantasies. In fact, the naval warfare in the Caribbean was frequently brutal, with no “hint” of pirate honor. Kritzler captures the spirit of that violent, lawless epoch and combines it with an interesting ethnic perspective. --Jay Freeman --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Anchor; 1 edition (November 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767919521
• ISBN-13: 978-0767919524
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > History > Americas > Caribbean & West Indies

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean, November 19, 2008

By 

Anna M. Foer (Annapolis, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 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 (Hardcover)

It is true that some famous pirates such as Jean Lafitte and Sinan were Jewish, but did you ever imagine there would be a serious, non-fiction book with such a title? Although the title is perhaps a bit "Hollywoodesque", this is a well-researched and well-written account of a chapter in history that continues to fascinate. Perhaps an equally playful title could have been "Raising Cain in the New World" as early Jewish settlers became heavily involved in sugar cane production and export and some of them did cause trouble--especially for Spain. Furthermore, to a certain extent, they survived and were successful because they were their brother's keepers, and remained faithful in their own communities.
There were pirates of the Caribbean, some of whom were Jews and there truly was a Port Royal in Jamaica, but don't expect Long Jonathan Silvermans or Captain Jacob Sparrowsteins to come careening across the deck or fling themselves from the rigging with cutlass in one hand shouting "Ahoy Vey". You will find some swashbuckling adventurein Ed Kritzler's account, which took place in the time when Spain and her rivals began to explore and settle in the Caribbean and the New World.
After centuries of a relatively fruitful existence in Iberia, hundreds of thousands if not millions of Jews found themselves in a precarious situation as the Catholic Empire reunited and re-established itself over the Moors. Jews were forced to convert or leave and many were tortured or murdered through the Inquisition. Columbus was likely a Jew and his three ships left the day of expulsion, headed to the New World and what eventually became a haven for the oppressed Jews and other people of Europe.
In those turbulent days of discovery, conquest and exploitation, the Spanish and Portuguese Jews used their linguistic, financial and trading skills, along with their associations with co-religionists in other ports to establish footholds in the new colonies, and especially in Jamaica, which is the fulcrum of this book. They were investors, ship owners, sailors and even soldiers and spies for the enemies of Spain, whether they were Dutch or British. Some of these adventurous Jews, including the larger-than-life Samuel Pallache, a rabbi and leader of Amsterdam's thriving Jewish community, did capture Spanish ships and treasure.
As for the beautiful and well situated island of Jamaica, it was originally deeded to the heirs of Columbus and fell in and out of favor with the Spanish and then the English. During the heyday of the pirates, as fictionally portrayed in the hit movie and the popular Disney ride, Port Royal was also home to many Jews. We learn that the popularized and fictionalized accounts of this raucous town as a cauldron of pirates, wenches, unbridled trading and rum may actually not have been far from the mark.
Major historical figures including Oliver Cromwell, Peter Stuyvesant, Captain Henry Morgan, King Charles of England and King Phillip of Spain enter into this story, sometimes in surprising, important and even crucial ways.
I think that as interest grows in the history of piracy and the early history of Jews in American, more will be written about the seafaring and port-histories of Jews in this period. Without spoiling anything, readers may wish to know that aside from the treasures of historical research and documentation that Kritzler brings to light, there just might even be a lost treasure of gold still waiting to be unearthed. You'll have to read the book to find out more.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who Knew?, January 3, 2009

By 

S. Kessler - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: 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 (Kindle Edition)

I really enjoyed this book. I have read many histories of the period (16th and 17th centuries), and the Jews generally get an historical footnote, if anything at all. What fun to read this previously unknown history of an important period in the development of Jewish identify and independence, and how the actions of a significant group of heroic Jews eventually led to full acceptance and legal recognition of the Jewish people in both the old and new worlds. Of course, it's a source of pride to learn of the important role my fellow religionists played in the development of the western hemisphere's culture and economy. You don't learn this stuff in school, and every person of a particular ethnic persuasion looks for "heroes" to look up to. So this was not only an informative and fun read, but has contributed to my sense of ethnic pride.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hidden History, April 3, 2009

By 

DJ (Colorado) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: 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 (Hardcover)

Edward Kritzler has dug up historical facts about the treatment of the Jews in the 15th - 17th centuries that for most of us lay people has amounted to a sentence or two in our high school history books indicating that "Jews were persecuted during the Spanish Inquisition". His stories of actual Jewish people and their situations and the extent of their revenge makes for very informative reading, and helps explain the remnants of the Sephardic Jewish presence still in Latin America and in the Southwestern United States. His writing style is not that great; he is difficult to follow because of his lack of continuity in the various episodes. It is more of a "brain dump" of factual information, but the facts he does present overcomes his poor style.