Crypto Corsairs or Converted Contrabandistas: Non-Christian Criminals of the Caribbean

While the history of piracy dates from the time of ancient Greece, it is not until 1492, when Christopher Columbus sets sail for the New World, that the Western hemisphere is opened for financial opportunity and illegal profit making. 1492 marks a watershed year in the history of the Iberian Peninsula for a number of reasons: The seven hundred and seventy year Muslim rule of the Peninsula ends with the Christian victory over the Muslims in the Reconquista and the fall of the last Muslim kingdom of Granada to the Christians; the marriage of Queen Isabella I of Castile to Ferdinand II of Aragon consolidates the Christian kingdoms; and the remaining Jews of Spain are expelled. Fleeing persecution and looking for opportunities to start a new life, a number of Jews, and conversos, set sail with Columbus on his first voyage.

While both Muslims and Christians had been active in piracy in the Mediterranean, it was not until 1620 that piracy really began to flourish with 1620 to 1720 being known as the Golden Age of piracy. It is against this historical backdrop and within this time frame that Jewish piracy in the Caribbean will be explored.