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Christopher Columbus - the Jew^ T HE Feast of Tabernacles, which in Jewish history commemorates God’s guidance of the children of Israel during their 40 years of journeying through the wilderness from the slav ery of Egypt to the freedom of Canaan and by a strange coincidence Succoth is also associated in Jewish history with another great pilgrimage— the migration of millions of Jews from the op pressive lands of the Old World to the tolerance and liberty of America, which was discovered by Christopher Columbus on Hoshana Rabba, the seventh day of Succoth. On August 2, 1492, which in that year coin cided with Tisha B’Ab, 300,000 Jews were forcibly expelled from Spain. The following day Colum bus sailed from Palos in search of the Indies. Ap parently realizing that the historian of the future would say “where the his tory of the Jews in Spain ends, that of the Jews in America begins,” Columbus linked the two events in the following entry in his jour nal dated August 3, 1492: “On the day Their Majes ties ordered the Jews to leave their lands, on the same day they provided the means for me to set out on my search for new lands.” The coupling of these two incidents by Columbus has led one important school of historians to believe that Columbus was a Mariano, one of those converted Jews of Spain who outwardly professed Christianity but who inwardly clung to their Jewishness. This group of historians, supported by re cently discovered documents dating back to the time of Columbus, contends that he was not an Italian but a Spaniard. His real name, they claim, was Cristobal Colon, and Colon was a prominent Jewish family name in Spain. Many Colons were burned .at the stake in Spain while Columbus was there. Christopher Colu Those who agree with these of Astrono "'y *» historians also point to the fact that Columbus wrote in Biblical style, that he quoted the Prophets fre quently, that he preferred to read books of Biblical or Jewish origin, that he referred to himself as the advance agent of Jehovah, that he was pro tected by Jews and that he left a legacy to a Jew. Regardless of whether or not Columbus was a Jew the fact that he discovered America on Suc coth is not Jewry’s only interest in him. We know that material from classical Hebrew writ ings contending that one could reach Asia by sailing west from Europe w'as known to Colum bus through Roger Bacon’s famous collection. Columbus, who had devoted nearly seven years of studying all available sources on the geography of the world, could hardly have been ignorant of the fact that the Mid rash compared the world to “a ball that is thrown from hand to hand” and that the Talmud declared the earth to be round. Moses de Leon, author of the Zohar, said three centuries before Columbus, that “the earth re The little known role of the Jews in the life of Columbus, who was himself possibly a Jew, is told in this article of interest By Bertram Jonas volves like a ball” so that “when it is day on one- half of the globe, night reigns over the other half.” Of even greater interest is the fact that the actual scientific basis for Columbus’ exploration was laid at the famous naval academy at Sagres mhus at the laboratory of Abraham Zacuto, Professor the University of Salamanca, whose tables and charts <were used by Columbus. founded by Prince Henry of Portugal and headed by Jehuda Cresques, the most famous map-maker of the 14th and 15th centuries. “Jacob’s staff,” a sea quadrant devised by Levi ben Gerson and ap plied to navigation by Abraham Zacuto, was the first device for observing the stars. Columbus found Zacuto’s perpetual almanac and astronom ical tables invaluable on his voyage across the un charted Atlantic. It was Joseph Vechino, royal physician at the court of Portugal, who provided Columbus with copies of Zacuto’s tables. Vechino, together with Abraham I bn Ezra, Jacob ben Machir and Jacob Carsoni, all Jews, had helped develop the astrolabe, an instrument for measuring the distance of a ship from the equator by means of the position of the sun. This device, too, proved immensely helpful to Columbus. Besides this scientific aid rendered by the Jew's of Portugal, Columbus also sought their influence at court in his efforts to prevail upon the king of Portugal to finance his voyage. Zacuto, an inti mate of the king, and Professor Diego de Deza, one of the leading educators of his day, were among the first to support Columbus’ project but even their advice proved futile. Rebuffed in Portugal, Columbus turned to Spain where the timely and influential aid of the leading Jews led to the eventual success of his mission before the court of Ferdinand and Isabella. Co lumbus’ principal backer was Luis de Santangel. the Rothschild of the 15th century. Santangel, w'hose father had been collector of the royal taxes in Valencia, and w'hose uncle had been a victim of the Inquisition, had been so near death himself, even after he had accepted Christianity, that he did not feel at ease until he obtained from King Ferdinand a document freeing him and his de scendants forever from any charges of apostasy that might be brought against them. It was this Santangel who persuaded Columbu> to remain in Spain w'hen the future discoverer was about to leave broken-hearted. Where others had failed, Santangel succeeded in obtaining an inter view' for Columbus with Isabella. He even did more. He showed the Queen the tremendous pres tige that w r ould accrue to Spain from any discov eries that Columbus might make. When shr pleaded poverty, he offered to advance funds for the voyage and his offer w r as readily accepted. In those trying days Columbus also had the valu able support of Isaac Abarbanel. Thus it appears that the Jew's not only provided the scientific inspiration but also the financial wherewithal for Columbus’ voyage. The textbook- tell us that Isabella paw ned her jewels in order to pay for the vqyage. We now know', however, that it was “Jews, not jew'els” that made his voy age possible. At the time w'hen preparations were being rushed for the expedition Spain w'as preparing to expel all Jew's from its borders. Their properr- and w'ealth w'as being confiscated and although Isaac Abarbanel offered his entire fortune to the Queen if the edict of expulsion w'as revoked, the exodus w r as carried out. Besides the hundreds of thousands of Jews who were being expelled, there w'ere thousands C others languishing in Spanish jails where they been throw'n by the Holy Office of the Inquisition for the crime of “judaizing,” w'hich meant that some of them had been found putting on a clean shirt on the Sabbath or eating a little better the Sabbath—all going to prove that they werf Jew's rather than Christians at heart! Since it is admitted that the greater portion c the members of the crew's of the Pinta, the N ini and the Santa Maria were recruited from tt f jail population, it has been held quite likely that » large percentage of the sailors who accompany Columbus w*ere Jew's. The whole venture look f - so dubious that the safe, sane and respectable de- ments were not at all anxious to go w'hile crim»na- ? who could look fonvard to eventual freedom P re_ ferred life in a jail to death in the unknow n A‘ lantic. When the king ordered that any pri-ooet* w'ho enlisted in Columbus’ crews be given the- freedom it may w r ell have (Please turn to page £6] * THE SOUTHERN ISRAEL^