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Jasón, a Jewish archer on the prow of a pirate ship (a painting from Jason's Tomb)

Jewish pirates were Jewish people who engaged in piracy. While there is some mention of the phenomenon in antiquity, especially during the Hasmonean period (c. 140–37 BCE), most Jewish pirates were Sephardim who operated in the years following the Alhambra Decree of 1492 ordering the expulsion of Iberia's Jews. Upon fleeing Spain and Portugal, some of these Jews became pirates and turned to attacking the Catholic empires' shipping as both Barbary corsairs from their refuge in the Ottoman dominions, as well as privateers bearing letters of marque from Spanish rivals such as the United Netherlands.

Many Jews also were involved in backing Spanish-attacking privateers economically. They viewed this campaign to be a profitable strategy of revenge for their expulsion and the Inquisition's continued religious persecution of their Jewish and converso brethren in both the Old and New Worlds.^[1]

Piracy in the ancient world: pirates of Joppa

Ancient Jewish life was concentrated around in the highlands of the Samarian and Judaean Mountains, located some distance from the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, Jews were initially not very active in seafaring or navigation. After 142 BCE, the Jewish Hasmonean state acquired ports of their own. Joppa (Jaffa), Ashdod and Gaza were added to their domain, and a small number of Jewish sailors developed.

Jewish pirates were first mentioned by Josephus. There is a drawing of a pirate ship following two merchant ships at Jason's Tomb in Jerusalem. The drawing shows three ships, one of which is a war ship with Jason holding the bow and getting ready to shoot. The painting is dated back at early 1st century BCE. The Seleucid Empire's decline in the region was a result of the Maccabean war, and was followed by an influx of Jewish and Syrian pirates operating from the Levant. Pompey's journey to Judea may indicate a connection between Jewish and Cilician pirates. As a matter of fact there were so many Jews at sea during Pompey's time, some of whom were pirates, that king Antigonus II Mattathias was accused of sending them out on purpose.^[2]

By the end of First Jewish–Roman War, also known as The Great Revolt, Jews who had been driven out of Galilee rebuilt Joppa (Jaffa), which had been destroyed earlier by Cestius Gallus. Surrounded and cut off by the Romans they rebuilt the city walls, and used a light flotilla to demoralize commerce and interrupt the grain supply to Rome from Alexandria.^[3]

In The Jewish War, Josephus wrote:

They also built themselves a great many piratical ships, and turned pirates upon the seas near to Syria, and Phoenicia, and Egypt, and made those seas unnavigable to all men.^[4]

In July 67 Vespasian attacked Joppa. The people of Joppa took to the sea, but a pre-dawn storm wrecked the ships. Many drowned, others killed themselves. Those who survived the wreck, numbering about 4,200, were killed by the Romans. Joppa was destroyed once again.

But some of them thought that to die by their own swords was lighter than by the sea, and so they killed themselves before they were drowned; although the greatest part of them were carried by the waves, and dashed to pieces against the abrupt parts of the rocks, insomuch that the sea was bloody a long way, and the maritime parts were full of dead bodies; for the Romans came upon those that were carried to the shore, and destroyed them; and the number of the bodies that were thus thrown out of the sea was four thousand and two hundred.^[4]

After Joppa's destruction for the second time, Vespasian built a citadel there to prevent the Jewish pirates from retaking the city.^[5] The Romans considered their victory over Joppa's pirates very important, and commemorated it with a large number of coins for "naval victory."^[6]^[7]

Early modern Sephardi piracy

Iberian Jewish pirates

The Age of Exploration was, in part, enabled by crucial navigational advances developed by the primarily Jewish Majorcan cartographic school as well as Abraham Zacuto's ephemerides. Zacuto, Royal Astronomer and Historian of Portugal, left Portugal rather than become Christian. Vasco da Gama even lent his name to his Jewish pilot Gaspar da Gama. Many Jews also worked as ship navigators. Suddenly expelled from Iberia, their knowledge and skills in ship navigation made them enemies of the state and were contributing factors to the development of Jewish piracy in that age.^[1]^[8]^[9]^[10]

After Jews were expelled from Spain and Portugal, many of them settled in the friendlier Muslim lands of the Mediterranean (the Ottoman Empire for example). Like their Muslim compatriots who were likewise expelled in 1492, Jews were also looking to get revenge against Iberian Christians by sharing with Muslims the newest military techniques and secrets used by Christians. And they also joined in on Muslim anti-Christian piracy of the Mediterranean, such as Sinan Reis and Samuel Pallache.^[1]

The English State Papers of 1521 bear evidences of Sinan Reis, who sailed with Hayreddin Barbarossa:

As to Coron, it was reported at Rome a few days ago that Andrea Doria was informed that the famous Jewish pirate had prepared a strong fleet to meet the Spanish galleys which are to join Doria's nineteen^[11]

Christopher Columbus himself noticed a great symbolism in the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and his sea voyages of discovery, when he started his diary with this statement:

In the same month in which their Majesties issued the edict that all Jews should be driven out of the kingdom and the territories, in the same month they gave me the order to undertake, with sufficient men, my expedition of discovery to the Indies.^[12]

Jewish pirates of Jamaica

Today, there are only around 200 Jews in Jamaica. However, at some point 20% of Kingston's population were Portuguese and Spanish Jews, while Spanish Town was founded by escaped Jews.^[1] The first Jews colonized the island in 1530 just 40 years after it was invaded by Christopher Columbus. While for a time the Columbus family's rule kept out the Inquisition, when their power was eroded and the Church began threatening the crypto-Jewish populace, they aided the English conquest of Jamaica. Under the English, the city of Port Royal was home not only to privateers bearing letters of marque against Spanish treasure galleons, some of whom were Jewish, but was also home to a large Jewish community which economically supported the raids against the Spanish.^[1]

Jewish pirates of Jamaica named their ships for ancient Jewish heroes and prophets like Prophet Samuel, Queen Esther and Shield of Abraham. They targeted Spanish and Portuguese merchant ships. One of the most famous Jewish pirates of Jamaica was Moses Cohen Henriques, who in 1628, led with Piet Pieterszoon Hein the only successful capture of the Spanish treasure fleet.^[13] He went on to aid the Dutch capture of northeast Brazil from Portugal.^[1]

Abraham Blauvelt was a Dutch-Jewish pirate, privateer, and explorer of Central America and the western Caribbean, after whom the towns of Bluefields, Nicaragua, and Bluefields, Jamaica, were both named.^[14]

Notable pirates

The Great Jew - Sinan Reis

Sinan, called The Great Jew by the Spaniards, was one such Jewish refugee whose family emigrated from Spain to the Ottoman Empire, according to some non-academic authors. He sailed as a barbary corsair under Hayreddin Barbarossa. Some attribute to him the defeat of an Imperial-Spanish fleet in 1538 at the Battle of Preveza. Some non-academic authors,^[1]^[8]^[15]^[16] mistaking him for Sinan Pasha and sometimes again mistaking the latter's place of burial, Üsküdar, for Shkodër in Albania (both places bearing the alternative name of Scutari), wrote erroneously that Sinan the Jew is buried in a Jewish cemetery in Albania.

Yaacov Kuriel

Yaacov Kuriel was born to a Jewish family which converted to Christianity under pressure from the Inquisition when Yaakov was a child. He was called Diego Da Coreia. As a young man, Yaacov Kuriel was a captain of the Spanish fleet until he was caught by the Inquisition, tortured and sentenced to death. He was freed by his sailors, most of whom were marranos themselves. For many years after that his only goal was revenge. He had three pirate ships under his command and was based in Jamaica. Later in life, he moved to Israel and became a disciple of the Arizal. He is buried near him in Safed. His gravestone bears a skull and crossbones. Little is known about what happened to him later. Some believe that eventually he made his way to the Holy Land, studied Kabbalah and died peacefully of old age.^[6]^[8]^[17]

Moses Cohen Henriques

Henriques was a Dutch Jewish Pirate of Portuguese Sephardic Jewish descent. Henriques operated in the Caribbean and in total his plunder and haul from his raids on the Spanish is estimated to be about 1 billion USD in current value.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Kritzler, Edward (3 November 2009). Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean. Anchor. pp. 59–60. ISBN 978-0-7679-1952-4. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
^ Jahn, Johann (1859). Jahn's Biblical Archaeology. Newman and Ivison. p. 123. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
^ Malkin, Irad; Hohlfelder, Robert L. (1 September 1988). Mediterranean Cities: Historical Perspectives. Routledge. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-7146-3353-4. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
^ ^a ^b Flavius Josephus. "The Wars Of The Jews Or The History Of The Destruction Of Jerusalem Book III". Retrieved 22 April 2010.
^ Goldberg, G. J. "The Galilean Campaign, 67 CE". Retrieved 22 April 2010.
^ ^a ^b Plotkin, Y. "Jewish Pirates" (PDF). Retrieved 22 April 2010.^{[dead link‍]}
^ Akerman, John Yonge FSA (1846). "The Numismatic Chronicle". Retrieved 22 April 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c Plaut, Steven (15 October 2008). "Putting the Oy Back into 'Ahoy'". Retrieved 23 October 2016.
^ Lendering, Jona. "Cilician Pirates". Retrieved 2 May 2010.
^ Lendering, Jona. "Jewish Pirates". Retrieved 2 May 2010.
^ Abrahams, Israel (1932). "Jewish Life in the Middle Ages". Edward Goldston. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
^ Adams, Herbert B.; Wood, Henry (1892). Columbus and His Discovery of America. The Johns Hopkins Press. p. 46. Retrieved 2 May 2010. in the same month.
^ Ilani, Ofri (3 March 2009). "High-Sea Search for Jewish Pirates Takes Heritage Tours by Storm". Haaretz. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
^ Cwik, Christian (2019). "Displaced Minorities: The Wayuu and Miskito People". The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity. pp. 1593–1609. doi:10.1007/978-981-13-2898-5_117. ISBN 978-981-13-2897-8. S2CID 239122464.
^ "Where Did the Jews Expelled from Spain Go?". Retrieved 2 May 2010.
^ "Sinan "The Great Jew" - Jewish Pirate". Retrieved 2 May 2010.
^ О пирате кабалисте... (in Russian). 31 March 2010. Retrieved 2 May 2010.

[kritzler59-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Kritzler, Edward (3 November 2009). Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean. Anchor. pp. 59–60. ISBN 978-0-7679-1952-4. Retrieved 2 May 2010.

[jahn-2] Jahn, Johann (1859). Jahn's Biblical Archaeology. Newman and Ivison. p. 123. Retrieved 28 April 2010.

[malkin-hohlfelder-3] Malkin, Irad; Hohlfelder, Robert L. (1 September 1988). Mediterranean Cities: Historical Perspectives. Routledge. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-7146-3353-4. Retrieved 22 April 2010.

[josephus-book3-4] Flavius Josephus. "The Wars Of The Jews Or The History Of The Destruction Of Jerusalem Book III". Retrieved 22 April 2010.

[goldberg-5] Goldberg, G. J. "The Galilean Campaign, 67 CE". Retrieved 22 April 2010.

[plotkin-6] Plotkin, Y. "Jewish Pirates" (PDF). Retrieved 22 April 2010.^{[dead link‍]}

[akerman-7] Akerman, John Yonge FSA (1846). "The Numismatic Chronicle". Retrieved 22 April 2010.

[plaut-8] Plaut, Steven (15 October 2008). "Putting the Oy Back into 'Ahoy'". Retrieved 23 October 2016.

[lendering1-9] Lendering, Jona. "Cilician Pirates". Retrieved 2 May 2010.

[lendering2-10] Lendering, Jona. "Jewish Pirates". Retrieved 2 May 2010.

[abrahams-11] Abrahams, Israel (1932). "Jewish Life in the Middle Ages". Edward Goldston. Retrieved 28 April 2010.

[adams-wood-12] Adams, Herbert B.; Wood, Henry (1892). Columbus and His Discovery of America. The Johns Hopkins Press. p. 46. Retrieved 2 May 2010. in the same month.

[haaretz-ilani-13] Ilani, Ofri (3 March 2009). "High-Sea Search for Jewish Pirates Takes Heritage Tours by Storm". Haaretz. Retrieved 22 April 2010.

[14] Cwik, Christian (2019). "Displaced Minorities: The Wayuu and Miskito People". The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity. pp. 1593–1609. doi:10.1007/978-981-13-2898-5_117. ISBN 978-981-13-2897-8. S2CID 239122464.

[christiansolution-15] "Where Did the Jews Expelled from Spain Go?". Retrieved 2 May 2010.

[jgrit-16] "Sinan "The Great Jew" - Jewish Pirate". Retrieved 2 May 2010.

[blog-i-ua-17] О пирате кабалисте... (in Russian). 31 March 2010. Retrieved 2 May 2010.

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+{{Short description|Seafaring Jewish people who engaged in piracy}}
-[[File:Jason, a Jewish archer on the prow of a pirate ship .jpg|thumb|right|250px|Jason, a Jewish [[archery|archer]] on the prow of a pirate ship. (A painting from [[Jason's Tomb]])]]
+{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
+[[File:Jason, a Jewish archer on the prow of a pirate ship .jpg|thumb|right|250px|Jasón, a Jewish [[archery|archer]] on the prow of a pirate ship (a painting from [[Jason's Tomb]])]]
-'''Jewish pirates''' were those seafaring [[Jewish people]] who engaged in [[piracy]]. While there is some mention of the phenomena in antiquity, especially during the [[Hasmonean]] period, most Jewish pirates operated in the years following the [[Alhambra Decree|Spanish and Portuguese expulsion]] of the [[Sephardic Jew|Iberian Jews]]. Upon fleeing [[Iberia]], these Jews turned to attacking the Catholic Empire's shipping as both [[barbary corsairs]] from their refuge in the Ottoman dominions, as well as [[privateer]]s bearing [[letters of marque]] from Spanish rivals such as the [[United Netherlands]]. Many Jews also were involved in backing Spanish-attacking privateers economically. They viewed this campaign to be a profitable strategy of revenge for their expulsion and the [[Inquisition]]'s continued [[religious persecution]] in both the Old and New Worlds.<ref name="kritzler59" />
+'''Jewish pirates''' were [[Jews|Jewish people]] who engaged in [[piracy]]. While there is some mention of the phenomenon in antiquity, especially during the [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean]] period ({{Circa}} 140–37 BCE), most Jewish pirates were [[Sephardim]] who operated in the years following the [[Alhambra Decree]] of 1492 ordering the expulsion of [[Iberia]]'s Jews. Upon fleeing [[Spain]] and [[Portugal]], some of these Jews became pirates and turned to attacking the Catholic empires' shipping as both [[Barbary corsairs]] from their refuge in the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] dominions, as well as [[privateer]]s bearing [[letters of marque]] from Spanish rivals such as the [[Dutch Republic|United Netherlands]].
+Many Jews also were involved in backing Spanish-attacking privateers economically. They viewed this campaign to be a profitable strategy of revenge for their expulsion and the [[Inquisition]]'s continued [[religious persecution]] of their Jewish and ''[[converso]]'' brethren in both the Old and New Worlds.<ref name="kritzler59" />
-Their accomplishments include helping to defeat the Spanish-Imperial fleet at the 1538 [[Battle of Preveza]], leading the [[Battle in the Bay of Matanzas|only successful capture]] of the [[Spanish treasure fleet]] in 1628, aiding the [[Dutch Brazil|Dutch capture of part of Brazil]] from Portugal, and aiding the 1655 [[History of Jamaica|British conquest of Jamaica]] from the Spanish.
-==Piracy in the Ancient World: Pirates of Joppa==
+==Piracy in the ancient world: pirates of Joppa==
+{{Further|Ancient Mediterranean piracy}}
-Ancient [[Jew]]ish life was concentrated around in the highlands of the [[Samaria]]n and [[Judaean Mountains]], located some distance from the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. Therefore, Jews were initially not very active in seafaring or navigation. After 142 BCE, the Jewish [[Hasmonean]] state acquired ports of their own. Joppa ([[Jaffa]]), [[Ashdod]] and [[Gaza]] were added to their domain, and a small number of Jewish sailors developed.
+Ancient [[Jew]]ish life was concentrated around in the highlands of the [[Samaria]]n and [[Judaean Mountains]], located some distance from the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. Therefore, Jews were initially not very active in seafaring or navigation. After 142 BCE, the Jewish [[Hasmonean]] state acquired ports of their own. Joppa ([[Jaffa]]), [[Ashdod]] and [[Gaza City|Gaza]] were added to their domain, and a small number of Jewish sailors developed.
-Jewish pirates were first mentioned by [[Josephus]]. There is a drawing of a pirate ship following two merchant ships at [[Jason's Tomb]] in [[Jerusalem]]. The drawing shows three ships, one of which is a war ship with Jason holding the bow and getting ready to shoot. The painting is dated back at early [[1st century BCE]].
+Jewish pirates were first mentioned by [[Josephus]]. There is a drawing of a pirate ship following two merchant ships at [[Jason's Tomb]] in [[Jerusalem]]. The drawing shows three ships, one of which is a war ship with Jason holding the bow and getting ready to shoot. The painting is dated back at early 1st century BCE.
-[[Seleucid Empire]] decay was a result of the [[Maccabees|Maccabean war]], and was followed by an influx of Jewish and Arab [[pirates]] operating from [[Levant]]. [[Pompey]]'s journey to [[Judea]] may indicate a connection between Jewish and [[Cilician pirates]]. As a matter of fact there were so many Jews at the sea, some of which were pirates, during Pompey's time that king [[Antigonus II Mattathias]] was accused in sending them out in purpose.<ref name="jahn" />
+The [[Seleucid Empire]]'s decline in the region was a result of the [[Maccabees|Maccabean war]], and was followed by an influx of Jewish and Syrian [[Pirate|pirates]] operating from the [[Levant]]. [[Pompey]]'s journey to [[Judea]] may indicate a connection between Jewish and [[Cilician pirates]]. As a matter of fact there were so many Jews at sea during Pompey's time, some of whom were pirates, that king [[Antigonus II Mattathias]] was accused of sending them out on purpose.<ref name="jahn" />
-By the end of [[First Jewish–Roman War]], also known as The Great Revolt, [[Great Jewish Revolt#The Roman response|Jews who had been driven out of Galilee]] rebuilt [[Jaffa|Joppa]] (Jaffa), which had been destroyed earlier by [[Cestius Gallus]]. Surrounded and cut off by the Romans they rebuilt the city walls, and used a light flotilla to demoralize commerce and interrupt the grain supply to [[Rome]] from [[Alexandria]].<ref name="malkin-hohlfelder" />
+By the end of [[First Jewish–Roman War]], also known as The Great Revolt, [[First Jewish–Roman War#Vespasian's Galilee campaign|Jews who had been driven out of Galilee]] rebuilt [[Jaffa|Joppa]] (Jaffa), which had been destroyed earlier by [[Cestius Gallus]]. Surrounded and cut off by the Romans they rebuilt the city walls, and used a light flotilla to demoralize commerce and interrupt the grain supply to [[Rome]] from [[Alexandria]].<ref name="malkin-hohlfelder" />
-In his [[The Jewish War]] Josephus wrote:
+In ''[[The Jewish War]]'', Josephus wrote:
-{{cquote|They also built themselves a great many piratical ships, and turned pirates upon the seas near to Syria, and Phoenicia, and Egypt, and made those seas unnavigable to all men.<ref name="josephus-book3" />}}
-In July 67 [[Vespasian]] attacked Joppa. The people of Joppa took to the sea, but a pre-dawn storm wrecked the ships. Many drowned, others killed themselves. Those who survived the wreck, numbering about 4,200, were killed by Romans. Joppa was destroyed once again.
-{{cquote|But some of them thought that to die by their own swords was lighter than by the sea, and so they killed themselves before they were drowned; although the greatest part of them were carried by the waves, and dashed to pieces against the abrupt parts of the rocks, insomuch that the sea was bloody a long way, and the maritime parts were full of dead bodies; for the Romans came upon those that were carried to the shore, and destroyed them; and the number of the bodies that were thus thrown out of the sea was four thousand and two hundred.<ref name="josephus-book3" />}}
+{{Quote|They also built themselves a great many piratical ships, and turned pirates upon the seas near to Syria, and Phoenicia, and Egypt, and made those seas unnavigable to all men.<ref name="josephus-book3"/>}}
-After Joppa's destruction for the second time Vespasian built a citadel there to prevent the Jewish pirates from taking the city over for the third time.<ref name="goldberg" />
-The Romans considered their victory over Joppa's pirates very important, and commemorated it with the large number of coins for "naval victory".<ref name="plotkin" /><ref name="akerman" />
+In July 67 [[Vespasian]] attacked Joppa. The people of Joppa took to the sea, but a pre-dawn storm wrecked the ships. Many drowned, others killed themselves. Those who survived the wreck, numbering about 4,200, were killed by the Romans. Joppa was destroyed once again.
-==Premodern Sephardi Piracy==
-===Spanish Jewish pirates===
-The [[Age of Exploration]] was in part enabled by a crucial navigational advances developed by the primarily Jewish [[Majorcan cartographic school]] as well as [[Abraham Zacuto]]'s [[ephemerides]]. Zacuto was Royal Astronomer and Historian of Portugal until he fled the Inquisition. [[Vasco Da Gama]] even lent his name to his Jewish pilot [[Gaspar da Gama]]. Many Jews also worked as ship navigators. The knowledge and skills in ship navigation suddenly expelled from Iberia and made enemies of the state were contributing factors to the development of Jewish piracy in that age.<ref name="plaut" /><ref name="lendering1" /><ref name="lendering2" /><ref name="kritzler59" />
+{{Quote|But some of them thought that to die by their own swords was lighter than by the sea, and so they killed themselves before they were drowned; although the greatest part of them were carried by the waves, and dashed to pieces against the abrupt parts of the rocks, insomuch that the sea was bloody a long way, and the maritime parts were full of dead bodies; for the Romans came upon those that were carried to the shore, and destroyed them; and the number of the bodies that were thus thrown out of the sea was four thousand and two hundred.<ref name="josephus-book3"/>}}
-After Jews were [[Alhambra Decree|expelled from Spain and Portugal]], many of them settled in the friendlier Muslim lands of the Mediterranean (the [[Ottoman Empire]] for example). Like their [[Muslim]] compatriots who were [[Morisco|likewise expelled in 1492]], Jews were also looking to revenge Inquisition brutality by sharing with Muslims the newest military technique and secrets used by [[Christian]]s. And they also joined in on the Muslim [[Barbary corsairs|Anti-Christian Piracy of the Mediterranean]], such as [[Sinan Reis]] and [[Samuel Pallache]].<ref name="kritzler59" />
+After Joppa's destruction for the second time, Vespasian built a citadel there to prevent the Jewish pirates from retaking the city.<ref name="goldberg"/> The Romans considered their victory over Joppa's pirates very important, and commemorated it with a large number of coins for "naval victory."<ref name="plotkin"/><ref name="akerman"/>
+==Early modern Sephardi piracy==
+{{See also|Converso|Marrano|Alhambra Decree}}
+===Iberian Jewish pirates===
+The [[Age of Exploration]] was, in part, enabled by crucial navigational advances developed by the primarily Jewish [[Majorcan cartographic school]] as well as [[Abraham Zacuto]]'s [[ephemerides]]. Zacuto, Royal Astronomer and Historian of Portugal, left Portugal rather than become Christian. [[Vasco da Gama]] even lent his name to his Jewish pilot [[Gaspar da Gama]]. Many Jews also worked as ship navigators. Suddenly expelled from Iberia, their knowledge and skills in ship navigation made them enemies of the state and were contributing factors to the development of Jewish piracy in that age.<ref name="kritzler59" /><ref name="plaut" /><ref name="lendering1" /><ref name="lendering2" />
+After Jews were [[Alhambra Decree|expelled from Spain]] and [[Expulsion of the Jews from Portugal|Portugal]], many of them settled in the friendlier Muslim lands of the Mediterranean (the [[Ottoman Empire]] for example). Like their [[Muslim]] compatriots who were [[Morisco|likewise expelled in 1492]], Jews were also looking to get revenge against Iberian Christians by sharing with Muslims the newest military techniques and secrets used by Christians. And they also joined in on Muslim [[Barbary corsairs|anti-Christian piracy of the Mediterranean]], such as [[Sinan Reis]] and [[Samuel Pallache]].<ref name="kritzler59" />
 The English State Papers of 1521 bear evidences of Sinan Reis, who sailed with [[Hayreddin Barbarossa]]:
-{{cquote|As to Coron, it was reported at Rome a few days ago that [[Andrea Doria]] was informed that the famous Jewish pirate had prepared a strong fleet to meet the Spanish galleys which are to join Doria's nineteen<ref name="abrahams" />}}
+{{Quote|As to Coron, it was reported at Rome a few days ago that [[Andrea Doria]] was informed that the famous Jewish pirate had prepared a strong fleet to meet the Spanish galleys which are to join Doria's nineteen<ref name="abrahams" />}}
-[[Christopher Columbus]] himself noticed a great symbolism in expulsion Jews from Spain and sea voyages of discovery, when he started his diary with this statement:
-{{cquote| In the same month in which their Majesties issued the edict that all Jews should be driven out of the kingdom and the territories, in the same month they gave me the order to undertake, with sufficient men, my expedition of discovery to the Indies.<ref name="adams-wood" />}}
+[[Christopher Columbus]] himself noticed a great symbolism in the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and his sea voyages of discovery, when he started his diary with this statement:
+{{Quote| In the same month in which their Majesties issued the edict that all Jews should be driven out of the kingdom and the territories, in the same month they gave me the order to undertake, with sufficient men, my expedition of discovery to the Indies.<ref name="adams-wood" />}}
 ===Jewish pirates of Jamaica===
-Today there are only around 200 Jews living in [[Jamaica]]. However, at some point 20% of [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]]'s population were [[Sephardi Jews|Jews of Portuguese-Spanish ancestry]], while [[Spanish Town]] was founded by escaped Jews.<ref name="kritzler59" /> The first Jews landed on the island in 1530 just 40 years after it was discovered by [[Christopher Columbus]]. While for a time the Columbus family's rule kept out the [[Inquisition]], when their power was eroded and the Church began threatening the [[crypto-Jew]]ish populace, they aided the British conquest of the Isle. Under the British, [[Port Royal]] Jamaica was home not only to privateers bearing letters of marque for operating against the Spanish, some of whom were Jewish, but was also home to a large Jewish community which economically backed the raids against the Spanish.<ref name="kritzler59" />
+Today, there are only around 200 [[Jews in Jamaica]]. However, at some point 20% of [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]]'s population were [[Portuguese and Spanish Jews]], while [[Spanish Town]] was founded by escaped Jews.<ref name="kritzler59" /> The first Jews colonized the island in 1530 just 40 years after it was invaded by [[Christopher Columbus]]. While for a time the Columbus family's rule kept out the [[Inquisition]], when their power was eroded and the Church began threatening the [[crypto-Jew]]ish populace, they aided the [[Kingdom of England|English]] conquest of Jamaica. Under the English, the city of [[Port Royal]] was home not only to privateers bearing [[Letter of marque|letters of marque]] against Spanish treasure galleons, some of whom were Jewish, but was also home to a large Jewish community which economically supported the raids against the Spanish.<ref name="kritzler59" />
+Jewish pirates of Jamaica named their ships for ancient Jewish heroes and prophets like [[Samuel (Biblical figure)|Prophet Samuel]], [[Esther|Queen Esther]] and [[Star of David|Shield of Abraham]]. They targeted Spanish and Portuguese merchant ships. One of the most famous Jewish pirates of Jamaica was [[Moses Cohen Henriques]], who in 1628, led with [[Piet Pieterszoon Hein]] the [[Battle in the Bay of Matanzas|only successful capture]] of the [[Spanish treasure fleet]].<ref name="haaretz-ilani" /> He went on to aid the [[Dutch Brazil|Dutch capture of northeast Brazil]] from Portugal.<ref name="kritzler59" />
-In 2008 an old Jewish cemetery was discovered outside Kingston. Some tombstones have not only [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] writing, but are also marked with the skull and crossbones — pirate symbols.<ref name="jta" /><ref name="audi" /><ref name="kritzler59" />
+[[Abraham Blauvelt]] was a [[Dutch Jews|Dutch-Jewish]] pirate, privateer, and explorer of [[Central America]] and the western [[Caribbean]], after whom the towns of [[Bluefields]], [[Nicaragua]], and [[Bluefields, Jamaica]], were both named.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-981-13-2898-5_117|doi = 10.1007/978-981-13-2898-5_117|chapter = Displaced Minorities: The Wayuu and Miskito People|title = The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity|year = 2019|last1 = Cwik|first1 = Christian|pages = 1593–1609|isbn = 978-981-13-2897-8|s2cid = 239122464}}</ref>
-Jewish pirates of Jamaica named their ships for ancient Jewish heroes and prophets like [[Samuel (Biblical figure)|Prophet Samuel]], [[Esther|Queen Esther]] and [[Star of David|Shield of Abraham]]. They targeted Spanish and Portuguese merchant ships. One of the most famous Jewish pirates of Jamaica was [[Moses Cohen Henriques Eanes]], who in 1628, led with [[Piet Pieterszoon Hein]] the [[Battle in the Bay of Matanzas|only successful capture]] of the [[Spanish treasure fleet]].<ref name="haaretz-ilani" /> He went on to aid the [[Dutch Brazil|Dutch capture of northeast Brazil]] from Portugal.<ref name="kritzler59" />
 ==Notable pirates==
+{{Disputed section|date=October 2013}}
-===The Great Jew===
-[[File:Battle of Preveza (1538).jpg|right|thumb|Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha's force defeats the [[Holy League (1538)|Holy League]] of [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] under the command of [[Andrea Doria]] at the [[Battle of Preveza]] in 1538. Sinan Reis' leadership was key to the Ottoman victory.]]
+===The Great Jew - Sinan Reis===
+[[File:Battle of Preveza (1538).jpg|right|thumb|Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha's force defeats the [[Holy League (1538)|Holy League]] of [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] under the command of [[Andrea Doria]] at the [[Battle of Preveza]] in 1538. {{citation needed span|Sinan Reis' leadership was key to the Ottoman victory.|date=April 2017}}]]
 {{Main|Sinan Reis}}
-Sinan, called The Great Jew by the Spaniards, was one such Jewish refugee. His family emigrated from Spain to the [[Ottoman Empire]]. He sailed as a [[barbary corsair]] under [[Hayreddin Barbarossa]]. His legacy includes the defeat of a Spanish-Imperial fleet in 1538 at the [[Battle of Preveza]]. He is buried in a Jewish cemetery in [[Albania]].<ref name="plaut" /><ref name="christiansolution" /><ref name="jgrit" /><ref name="kritzler59" />
+Sinan, called The Great Jew by the Spaniards, was one such Jewish refugee whose family emigrated from Spain to the [[Ottoman Empire]], according to some non-academic authors. He sailed as a [[barbary corsair]] under [[Hayreddin Barbarossa]]. Some attribute to him the defeat of an Imperial-Spanish fleet in 1538 at the [[Battle of Preveza]]. Some non-academic authors,<ref name="kritzler59" /><ref name="plaut" /><ref name="christiansolution" /><ref name="jgrit" /> mistaking him for [[Sinan Pasha]] and sometimes again mistaking the latter's place of burial, [[Üsküdar]], for [[Shkodër]] in Albania (both places bearing the alternative name of Scutari), wrote erroneously that Sinan the Jew is buried in a Jewish cemetery in [[Albania]].
-===Yaakov Koriel===
+===Yaacov Kuriel===
-Yaakov Koriel was born to Jewish family that converted to Christianity under pressure from the Inquisition when Yaakov was a child. As a young man, Yaakov Koriel was a captain of the Spanish fleet until he was caught by the Inquisition. He was freed by his sailors, most of whom were [[marrano]]s themselves. For many years after that his only goal was revenge. He had three pirate ships under his command. Little is known about what happened to him later. Some believe that eventually he made his way to the Holy Land, studied [[Kabbalah]] and died peacefully of old age.<ref name="plaut" /><ref name="plotkin" /><ref name="blog-i-ua" />
+[[Yaacov Kuriel]] was born to a Jewish family which converted to Christianity under pressure from the Inquisition when Yaakov was a child. He was called Diego Da Coreia.
+As a young man, Yaacov Kuriel was a captain of the [[Spanish Navy|Spanish fleet]] until he was caught by the Inquisition, tortured and sentenced to death. He was freed by his sailors, most of whom were [[marrano]]s themselves. For many years after that his only goal was revenge. He had three pirate ships under his command and was based in Jamaica. Later in life, he moved to Israel and became a disciple of the [[Isaac_Luria|Arizal]].  He is buried near him in Safed.  His gravestone bears a skull and crossbones.  Little is known about what happened to him later. Some believe that eventually he made his way to the [[Holy Land]], studied [[Kabbalah]] and died peacefully of old age.<ref name="plotkin" /><ref name="plaut" /><ref name="blog-i-ua" />
+===Moses Cohen Henriques===
+Henriques was a Dutch Jewish Pirate of [[Spanish and Portuguese Jews|Portuguese]] [[Sephardic Jews in the Netherlands|Sephardic Jewish]] descent. Henriques operated in the Caribbean and in total his plunder and haul from his raids on the Spanish is estimated to be about 1 billion USD in current value.
 ==See also==
-*[[Samuel Pallache]]
+* [[Samuel Pallache]]
+* [[Pallache family]]
+* [[Moses Cohen Henriques]]
 ==References==
 {{Reflist|2|refs=
-<ref name="jahn">{{cite book|title=Jahn's Biblical Archaeology|author= Jahn, Johann|page=123|year=1859|publisher=Newman and Ivison|url =http://books.google.com/books?id=0kbOAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA123&dq=Pirates+of+Joppa&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&as_brr=3&cd=164#v=onepage&q=Pirates%20of%20Joppa&f=false|accessdate=2010-04-28}}</ref>
+<ref name="jahn">{{cite book|title=Jahn's Biblical Archaeology|author= Jahn, Johann|page=123|year=1859|publisher=Newman and Ivison|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=0kbOAAAAMAAJ&q=Pirates+of+Joppa&pg=PA123|accessdate=2010-04-28}}</ref>
-<ref name="abrahams">{{cite web|title=Jewish Life in the Middle Ages|publisher=Edward Goldston|author=Abrahams, Israel|year=1932|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/jewishlifeinthem028134mbp/jewishlifeinthem028134mbp_djvu.txt|accessdate=2010-04-28}}</ref>
+<ref name="abrahams">{{cite web|title=Jewish Life in the Middle Ages|publisher=Edward Goldston|author=Abrahams, Israel|year=1932|url=https://archive.org/stream/jewishlifeinthem028134mbp/jewishlifeinthem028134mbp_djvu.txt|accessdate=2010-04-28}}</ref>
-<ref name="plaut">{{cite web|title=Putting the Oy Back into 'Ahoy'|author=Plaut, Steven|date=October 15, 2008|url=http://www.jewishpress.com/printArticle.cfm?contentid=36634|accessdate=2010-04-27}}</ref>
+<ref name="plaut">{{cite web|title=Putting the Oy Back into 'Ahoy'|author=Plaut, Steven|date=October 15, 2008|url=http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/front-page/putting-the-oy-back-into-ahoy/2008/10/15/|accessdate=2016-10-23}}</ref>
-<ref name="lendering1">{{cite web|title=Cilician Pirates|authorlink=Jona Lendering|author=Lendering, Jona|url=http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/cilicia/cilician_pirates.html|accessdate=2010-05-02}}</ref>
+<ref name="lendering1">{{cite web|title=Cilician Pirates|authorlink=Jona Lendering|author=Lendering, Jona|url=https://www.livius.org/cg-cm/cilicia/cilician_pirates.html|accessdate=2010-05-02}}</ref>
-<ref name="lendering2">{{cite web|title=Jewish Pirates|authorlink=Jona Lendering|author=Lendering, Jona|url =http://www.livius.org/ja-jn/jewish_pirates/pirates.html|accessdate=2010-05-02}}</ref>
+<ref name="lendering2">{{cite web|title=Jewish Pirates|authorlink=Jona Lendering|author=Lendering, Jona|url =https://www.livius.org/ja-jn/jewish_pirates/pirates.html|accessdate=2010-05-02}}</ref>
-<ref name="malkin-hohlfelder">{{cite book|title=Mediterranean Cities: Historical Perspectives|author=Malkin, Irad; Hohlfelder, Robert L.|page=81|date= September 1, 1988|ISBN=978-0-7146-3353-4|publisher=Routledge|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=CZt8xkmEwVwC&pg=PA81&dq=in+roman+wars+%22jewish+pirates%22&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&as_brr=3&ei=N67QS9_DAqeCkATVkvDECA&cd=3#v=onepage&q=jewish%20pirates&f=false|accessdate=2010-04-22}}</ref>
+<ref name="malkin-hohlfelder">{{cite book|title=Mediterranean Cities: Historical Perspectives|author1=Malkin, Irad |author2=Hohlfelder, Robert L. |page=81|date= September 1, 1988|isbn=978-0-7146-3353-4|publisher=Routledge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CZt8xkmEwVwC&q=jewish+pirates&pg=PA81|accessdate=2010-04-22}}</ref>
 <ref name="josephus-book3">{{cite web|title=The Wars Of The Jews Or The History Of The Destruction Of Jerusalem Book III|author=Flavius Josephus|authorlink=Josephus|url=http://reluctant-messenger.com/josephusW03.htm|accessdate=2010-04-22}}</ref>
 <ref name="goldberg">{{cite web|title=The Galilean Campaign, 67 CE|author=Goldberg, G. J.|url=http://www.josephus.org/FlJosephus2/warChronology5Pg2.htm|accessdate=2010-04-22}}</ref>
-<ref name="plotkin">{{cite web|title=Jewish Pirates|format=PDF|author=Plotkin, Y.|url=http://www.mishpacha.com/getPdf/1/80/26/0/|accessdate=2010-04-22}}</ref>
+<ref name="plotkin">{{cite web|title=Jewish Pirates|format=PDF|author=Plotkin, Y.|url=http://www.mishpacha.com/getPdf/1/80/26/0/|accessdate=2010-04-22}}{{dead link|date=October 2016}}</ref>
-<ref name="akerman">{{cite web|title=The Numismatic Chronicle|author=Akerman, John Yonge FSA|year=1846|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/numismaticchroni08royauoft/numismaticchroni08royauoft_djvu.txt|accessdate=2010-04-22}}</ref>
+<ref name="akerman">{{cite web|title=The Numismatic Chronicle|author=Akerman, John Yonge FSA|year=1846|url=https://archive.org/stream/numismaticchroni08royauoft/numismaticchroni08royauoft_djvu.txt|accessdate=2010-04-22}}</ref>
-<ref name="adams-wood">{{cite book|title=Columbus and His Discovery of America|author=Adams, Herbert B. and Wood, Henry|page=46|year=1892|publisher=The Johns Hopkins Press|url=http://books.google.com/books?ei=cjbXS-qwF4TesgOh8IHLAg&ct=result&output=text&id=paA-AAAAYAAJ&q=in%20the%20same%20month&f=false|accessdate=2010-05-02}}</ref>
+<ref name="adams-wood">{{cite book|title=Columbus and His Discovery of America|author1=Adams, Herbert B.  |author2=Wood, Henry|page=[https://archive.org/details/columbusandhisd00woodgoog/page/n47 46]|year=1892|publisher=The Johns Hopkins Press|url=https://archive.org/details/columbusandhisd00woodgoog|quote=in the same month.|accessdate=2010-05-02}}</ref>
-<ref name="jta">{{cite web|title=Jewish Pirates in Jamaica|date=February 7, 2008|url=http://jta.org/news/article/2008/02/07/106850/piratesjamaica|accessdate=2010-05-02}}</ref>
+<!-- Not in use
-<ref name="audi">{{cite web|title=Jamaica's New Tourism Spiel: Beaches and Reggae and Jews|author=Audi, Tamara|date =March 9, 2010|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703382904575059113221038280.html|publisher=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|accessdate=2010-04-22}}</ref>
+<ref name="jta">{{cite web|title=Jewish Pirates in Jamaica |date=February 7, 2008 |url=http://www.jta.org/news/article/2008/02/07/106850/piratesjamaica |accessdate=2015-10-02 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603173533/http://www.jta.org/news/article/2008/02/07/106850/piratesjamaica |archivedate=June 3, 2012 }}</ref>
+Not in use-->
+<!-- Not in use
+<ref name="audi">{{cite web|title=Jamaica's New Tourism Spiel: Beaches and Reggae and Jews|author=Audi, Tamara|date =March 9, 2010|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703382904575059113221038280 |publisher=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|accessdate=2010-04-22}}</ref>
+Not in use-->
 <ref name="haaretz-ilani">{{cite web|title=High-Sea Search for Jewish Pirates Takes Heritage Tours by Storm|author=Ilani, Ofri|date=March 3, 2009|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1076253.html|publisher=[[Haaretz]]|accessdate=2010-04-22}}</ref>
 <ref name="christiansolution">{{cite web|title=Where Did the Jews Expelled from Spain Go?|url=http://www.thechristiansolution.com/doc2009/175_Pirates.html|accessdate=2010-05-02}}</ref>
 <ref name="jgrit">{{cite web |title=Sinan "The Great Jew" - Jewish Pirate|url=http://www.j-grit.com/adventurers-sinan-pirate.php|accessdate=2010-05-02}}</ref>
-<ref name="kritzler59">{{cite book|title=Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean|pages=59–60|author=Kritzler, Edward|ISBN=978-0-7679-1952-4|date=November 3, 2009|publisher=Anchor|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Z3M6xn93xYEC&pg=PT177&lpg=PT177&dq=%E2%96%A0Neil+Grant+-+Barbarossa,+the+Pirate+King&source=bl&ots=FGYvWB3dWb&sig=DuWeeT3w82hfjGjlcgcYV2no3tY&hl=en&ei=HyjTS-iRNISOswPk7tidCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CAkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%E2%96%A0%22the%20great%20jew%22&f=false|accessdate=2010-05-02}}</ref>
+<ref name="kritzler59">{{cite book|title=Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean|pages=59–60|author=Kritzler, Edward|isbn=978-0-7679-1952-4|date=November 3, 2009|publisher=Anchor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z3M6xn93xYEC&pg=PT177 |accessdate=2010-05-02}}</ref>
-<ref name="blog-i-ua">{{cite web|title=О пирате кабалисте...|date=March 31, 2010|url=http://blog.i.ua/search/?type=label&words=75777&s=1/1076253.html|accessdate=2010-05-02}} {{ru icon}}</ref>
+<ref name="blog-i-ua">{{cite web|script-title=ru:О пирате кабалисте...|date=March 31, 2010|url=http://blog.i.ua/search/?type=label&words=75777&s=1/1076253.html|accessdate=2010-05-02|language=ru}}</ref>
 }}
 {{Pirates}}
+{{Ancient seafaring}}
+{{Authority control}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jewish Pirates}}
 [[Category:Pirates]]
-[[Category:Jewish history]]
+[[Category:Jews by occupation]]
-[[Category:Pirates by nationality]]
+[[Category:Piracy in the Mediterranean]]
+[[Category:Piracy in the Caribbean]]
+[[Category:History of the conversos]]
-[[ru:Еврейские пираты]]