Still trying to find that book I read.

Christopher Columbus famously set sail in 1492. That same day, August 2nd, a ship of Sephardic Jews — those living in and expelled from the Iberian Peninsula — made its way out of Spanish waters. Before embarking on his long voyage a certain Portuguese Jew named José Vizinho gave Columbus a translation of Zacuto's work so that Columbus could circumnavigate the Atlantic more accurately.

(Source: https://jewishstudies.washington.edu/sephardic-studies/how-contributions-from-christopher-columbus-sephardic-astronomer-illustrate-complex-legacies-of-exploration-and-conquest/)

In Spanish, Christopher Columbus was referred to as Cristóbal Colón. Born in Genoa, Italy in 1451

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Beginning in the 13th Century, Spanish rulers began a series of armed campaigns to rid their lands of the Moors/Muslims. Europe had rid itself of most Muslims by the mid-15th century, and some Kingdoms, like the Spanish Empire, had evolved into European powers. Although Spanish Jews during this time period were subject to occasional periods of anti-Semitism (e.g., the Pogroms of 1391), many Jewish communities flourished.

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1. alle, Rodrigo de Sanchez, Dr. Marco (surgeon), and Maestre Bernal. One anomaly to consider about this voyage is that there were no Catholic priests on board.

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1. Avoided leaving on Tisha B’Av. The first Voyage of Columbus was originally planned to leave on August 2nd, which was is solemn Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av (it is a fast day and day of mourning, when historically a number of tragic events occurred, including the destruction of the First and Second Temples). It has been suggested that Columbus intentionally stalled a day so that he would not leave on the holiday.

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There are additional Jewish connections to Columbus and his voyages to the New World that are not readily learned in school. For instance, much of the money used to fund the expedition were not from the king and queen, but from many converso Jews such as, Alfonso de la Caballeria, Juan Cabrero, Louis de Santangel, Gabriel Sanchez, and Rabbi Don Isaac Abramanel. In fact, the first letter written by Columbus back to Europe was not to King Ferdinand of Queen Isabella, but to Santangel and Sanchez. Rabbi Abraham Senior (he became a converso in 1492) was a smaller financier, but had huge influence upon the king and queen. Why were so many Jewish financiers interested in sending Columbus on his voyage?

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...indispensable for Columbus and all other ship captains to sail beyond the view of a land mass. Although Jews are not usually thought of as a seafaring people, other Jews that helped with the evolution of maritime navigation also include: Levi ben Gershon (cross-staff/baculus Jacob), Jacob ben Machir ibn Tibbon (quadrant Judaicus), and Rabbi Abraham Zacuto (astronomical charts) [Fast Fact: Zacuto’s tables were written in Hebrew and used by Columbus.]. There were many instruments created by Jayme Ribes (named Jehudah Cresques before he was forced to convert), who eventually became director of the famed School of Navigation founded by Henry the Navigator. [Fast Fact: King Ferdinand’s own grandmother (Paloma of Toledo) was born Jewish, and Isabella was delivered by a Jewish doctor (Maestre Semaya).

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Upon landing, Columbus noted how impressed he was by the hospitality and friendliness of the native (Arawaks). Also upon landing, Columbus immediately claimed the island in the name of Spain and put the natives to work in the mines. It took only two years for half of the population (about 125,000 people) to be killed off. In his journals, Columbus even wrote about selling 9 and 10 year old native girls into sexual slavery. Some of the brutality by the Spaniards included: the cutting off of native’s noses and ears, burning them at the stake, and setting attack dogs upon the natives. Although most of these horrendous acts were not committed directly by Columbus himself, as Governor he either approved of them or did nothing to stop them from occurring.

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The brutality was so bad that he was arrested in 1500 and literally brought back to Spain in chains. One of Columbus’s men (Bartolome De Las Casas) was so mortified by the inhumanities he observed, that he left his service and became a Catholic priest. In his journal he had written “My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature that now I tremble as I write.” King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella let Columbus go free because their treasury was growing from the wealth gained from the Island and the newly created slave trade. As a consequence of his actions, he lost his Governorship, much of his prestige, and wealth; but he did make a fourth and final voyage upon his release. Historians estimated that there about 3 million inhabitants in the Caribbean islands when Columbus arrived. In 20 years, the number was cut down to about 60,000. After 50 years, practically no natives were still alive on the entire island; it was genocide. In connection to his possible Jewish roots, I had already mentioned two possible places of his birth, but there are many countries claim him as their own, such as: Italy – Genoa. This is the supposed birthplace of Columbus and has been listed as such for hundreds of years. Most historians still believe this to be his true homeland. Columbus even mentions this in his own letters.

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The date of the death of Columbus, May 20, 1506, is not disputed. He died in Valladolid, Spain two years after returning from his fourth voyage. It is the location of his remains (his final resting spot) that have been a controversy. His body was interred in Seville, Spain. However, the journeyman in life was a journeyman in death as well. In 1542, his remains were moved on his posthumous fifth voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to Santa Domingo (modern day Dominican Republic). The journey did not end there. When France took over the island in 1795, his remains were moved to Havana, Cuba. A century later, after Cuba’s independence in 1898, the remains allegedly took another transatlantic journey when they moved back to Seville (Cathedral of Seville). HOWEVER . . . . . in 1877, a lead box containing skeletal remains and a bullet with the inscription “Don Christopher Columbus” was found in Santa Domingo, and they have claimed them to be his actual bones. In 2003, A DNA test showed that at least some of the remains in Seville could have been from Columbus himself. Since authorities in the Dominican Republic have not allowed a DNA test to be conducted, their claim cannot be verified. [But wouldn’t it be apropos for his remains to be buried in both the old world as well as the new?] [Fast Fact: After his death, the heirs of Columbus sued Spain for unpaid sums of monies due to him when he was alive. The suit was not finally settled until 1790 (almost 400 years later).]

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With Columbus (Colon) was 5 Jews - Luid de Torres (Interpreter), Marco (Surgeon), Bemal (Physician), Alonzo de la Calle, and Gabriel Sanchez. Even Columbus' expedition was financed by a jew.

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Continuing with Columbus, 2 jews who financed him were Louis De Santangel & Gabriel Sanchez. It was Gabriel Sanchez that told Columbus to sell 500 Indians in Seville, Spain. You can see that in the previous book and The Wages of Sin: The Beginning of Sorrow 2020 by Willie Stanfield. Spain kicked the jews out in 1492, & they set sail.

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Luis de Torres, a Jew, was on the ships with Columbus and he was his interpreter. Arabs were familiar with him. Luis had many slaves.