At the end of the fifteenth century, the Spanish Inquisition forced Jews to flee the country. The most adventurous among them took to the high seas as freewheeling outlaws. attacking and plundering the Spanish fleet while forming alliances with other European powers to ensure the safety of Jews living in hiding. This book is the entertaining saga of a hidden chapter in Jewish history and of the cruelty, terror, and greed that flourished during the Age of Discovery. Readers will meet such daring figures as the pirate rabbi Samuel Palache, who founded Holland's Jewish community; Abraham Cohen Henriques, an arms dealer who used his cunning and economic muscle to find safe havens for other Jews; and his pirate brother Moses, credited with the capture of the Spanish silver fleet in 1628--the largest heist in pirate history. Historian Kritzler here captures a gritty and glorious era of history from an eye-opening perspective.

Map on endpapers.

Columbus and Jamaica's chosen people -- Adventuring in the New World -- The king's essential heretics -- Samuel Palache, the pirate rabbi -- Amsterdam, the new Jerusalem -- Zion warriors in the New World -- Exodus to heretic island -- Cromwell's secret agents -- The golden dream of Charles II -- Buccaneer island -- Epilogue: Searching for the lost mine of Columbus.