This note was published yesterday in Enlace Judío, originally written in Spanish by EliSuli. It talks about the origins of the SP community in Brazil (k"k Zur Israel) and the influence of crypto-judaism in the history of that country. I thought it may be of a general interest in this forum.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In the year 1500, a Portuguese naval expedition set sail for India under the command of Admiral Pedro Alvarez Cabral. However, due to an error, their expedition veered westward and reached unknown shores.Once there, they named these unexplored coasts "Land of the Holy Cross." They immediately claimed these lands in the name of King Manuel of Portugal.As it happened, among the crew was a young Portuguese Jewish convert who had traveled alongside the renowned explorer Vasco da Gama.He was a Jew born in Poland who, from a young age, had been captured by pirates and sold as a slave in India. There, he met Vasco da Gama, who brought him to Portugal.In Portugal, he was forced to be baptized and take on the surname of his commander. The young Jew then adopted the name Gaspar da Gama. Since Portugal at that time deported those suspected of practicing Judaism and sent them to discover new lands, Gaspar was sent on the expedition with Pedro Alvarez Cabral.The young Jewish boy spoke Latin, Arabic, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Hebrew, which is why King Manuel of Portugal sent him as an interpreter in the fleet of the Brazilian discoverer, Alvarez Cabral.This secret Jew was the one who gave a new name to those lands, previously called the "Land of the Holy Cross," giving them the name "Brazil." This is because when Portuguese explorers reached these coasts, they encountered abundant trees that, due to their reddish hue, resembled steel beams, and the Jew Gaspar da Gama named these trees "Palo-barcel" (Barcel means steel in Hebrew).From this reddish trunk, a dye product was obtained that was exported on a large scale, boosting the economy of the region. Due to its importance, the country was ultimately named Brazil.As a result, many secret Jews began to move to these new lands, where they could continue practicing their religion with much more freedom than in Portugal. These crypto-Jews were the ones who drove commerce in these new territories.The first governor of Brazil was Thome Sonza, a converted Jew who dedicated himself to organizing the administration of the vast colony, leading it to great success.The initial large sugarcane plantations belonged to the Jews, who also owned extensive cotton, rice, and tobacco plantations. Another famous crypto-Jew was Fernando de Noronha, who was the head of a consortium of secret Jewish investors. Noronha was the one who discovered an island near Brazil that is still known as "Fernando de Noronha Island" to this day.The colonies of crypto-Jews or Marranos flourished in Brazil to such an extent that in 1579, the Portuguese government installed the Inquisition there. The order demanded that all suspected Judaizers be sent back to Portugal for trial. As a consequence, a wave of persecutions, detentions, and asset confiscations began, although the Brazilian Inquisition was not as terrifying as the Inquisitions of Mexico and Peru.In 1628, 134 suspects of being Jews were arrested, but only five of them were sent to trial. Portugal was then claiming a monopoly on the vast Brazilian exports. However, most of the sugar harvests were not going to Portugal but to the Netherlands. About 50,000 bags of sugar were annually shipped to the Dutch. This clandestine trade, in turn, boosted the development of the major sugar refining industry in Amsterdam.In 1629, the Dutch embarked on an impressive military project, with many Jews among them. In 1630, Dutch troops landed and eventually conquered Recife, the capital of Pernambuco, in Brazil. Meanwhile, the Jewish population of Brazil was steadily growing, and gradually, the Dutch were conquering almost the entire country.Temporary Freedom for Converted JewsUnder Dutch sovereignty, the time for freedom for all converted Jews had come.This was the first time that Jewish communities were formed in the New World, where they could openly practice the Torah and its precepts. Due to the news from the New World, Rabbi Menashe ben Israel encouraged many Jews from his community in Amsterdam to immigrate to Brazil. Everyone was filled with hope. A significant stream from all parts of Europe headed towards Brazil, increasing the number of Jewish colonies.Not only did Jews come from Spain and Portugal, but also from the Netherlands, Italy, Turkey, and North Africa. In 1644, Jews constituted 40% of the white European population in northern Brazil. They built sugar mills and boosted export and import.Almost all retail trade was practically managed by the Jews. Although there were already some synagogues within homes, in 1637, the Jews of Recife rented a place to build a synagogue they called Kahal Zur Israel, which is still operational today, along with a plot of land for use as a cemetery.A few years later, in 1642, the renowned Rabbi Isaac Aboab da Fonseca arrived from the Netherlands. He was one of the leading rabbis of Amsterdam, along with Rabbi and Hazan Moshe Rafael de Aguilar, who became the first rabbis of the New World. However, the time of freedom did not last long. The end of Dutch rule and the consequent expulsion of Jews from Brazil by the Portuguese led the Jews to scatter across the islands and found other communities that would later hold great importance in the Caribbean islands.It is precisely here that G-d prepares the path for the Jewish people.Original article: