## *SEPHARDIC WORLD MEETING, SUNDAY 31 OCTOBER*## *WITH BRIAN HAMM*## *THE PECULIAR CASE OF LUIS MÉNDEZ CHÁVEZ AND THE CARTAGENA INQUISITION*Luis Méndez Chávez was a Portuguese Jew tried by the Cartagena Inquisition in 1648 for attempting to smuggle a chest of Jewish books and liturgical items into colonial Venezuela, together with a boat full of African slaves. This voyage was one of the earliest attempts by leading Jews in Amsterdam to expand directly into Spanish territory in and around the Caribbean.Menasseh ben Israel gave Méndez Chávez more than a dozen religious works, while Jewish merchants in Amsterdam funded the purchase of slaves from Guinea to sell for a profit in the New World. Driven by intertwined religious and economic objectives, Méndez Chávez’s voyage failed but can be seen as a precursor to later successful Sephardic colonization efforts.***Brian Hamm*** is an Assistant Professor of History at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. He earned his Ph.D. in History from the University of Florida in 2017. From 2018-2019, he was a Frankel Postdoctoral Fellow at the Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies. He has published articles in Jewish History and in Anais de História de Além-Mar. He is currently working to complete a book manuscript entitled, Strangers and Kinsmen: Portuguese Immigrants and Local Society in the Spanish Circum-Caribbean, 1492-1665.*Please note that clocks go back on Sunday in Europe. If you are not in Europe, please check the time. The meeting is at 7pm in London and 8pm in Paris.*The meeting is on 31 October 2021 at 12am in LA, 3pm NYC, 7pm London, 8pm Paris/Amsterdam and 9pm Jerusalem. Americans and Antipodeans PLEASE check the times as clocks go back on different dates in different parts of the world. The meeting is at 7pm London time. Patrons can join us on Zoom. The link is shared at our Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/sephardiEveryone is invited to join us for free at: https://www.youtube.com/SephardicGenealogyAndHistory/ Please subscribe to the YouTube channel. It helps us a lot and reminds you when we are going live!Over the last year and a half Sephardic World has become the leading forum for learning about Sephardic history and genealogy. We have no commercial sponsorship or public funding. There is no charge to attend our meetings or to view our content. If you are not a patron and can afford it, please consider supporting our work: https://www.patreon.com/sephardi*Best wishes,**Ton and David**Sephardic World**Image: Church of the Convento de Santo Domingo of Cartagena de Indias, the seat of the Inquisition of Cartegena*