The underground world of secret Jews and Africans : two tales of sex, magic, and survival in colonial Cartagena and Mexico city / by Jonathan Schorsch.
| Author/creator |
Schorsch, Jonathan, 1963- author. |
| Format | Book and Print |
| Publication Info | Princeton, N.J. : Markus Wiener Publishers, [2021] |
| Copyright Notice | ̐u2021 |
| Description | xii, 187 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm |
| Subject(s) |
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| Contents | Jews and Judeoconversos -- Africans and Afroiberians -- Caste and Christianity -- Inquisition -- Two surgeons, a slave, and the Inquisition -- A Portuguese-born New Christian is accused and tortured -- An ex-slave surgeon and his witchcraft-practicing lover -- Knowledge is power, especially through the gaze of the invisible -- The meaning-making of Afroiberian magic -- Denouncing injustice? -- Spilling one's guts -- Trials and errors -- Esperanza Rodr̐uiguez: a life in-between -- An extended family of Fervent Crypto-Jews? -- Becoming a Crypto-Jew -- Within the bosom of the clan: from slave to elder -- The attraction of the other -- The tragic sense of humor of the cosmos -- Conclusion -- Tying up toxic loose ends -- Final Thoughts. |
| Abstract | "Spanish colonial society was divided into a caste system based on race and religion. Slaves comprised the lowest caste, leading some to seek power through African magic, while children of Jewish fathers and African women tried to gain social status by embracing Judaism-but in the process they risked retribution from the Spanish Inquisition, whose tribunals zealously prosecuted the perceived threat to the colonies from multicultural witchcraft and from alleged secret Jews. These two tales illustrate the perils tied to religious identity and practice in the colonies. One, set in 17th-century Cartagena des ̐uIndias, features a biracial surgeon who was famed for his magic powers. His lover, jealous of the other women in his life, reported him to the Inquisition. To bargain for his freedom, he denounced his wealthier colleague for secretly practicing Judaism. The colleague was arrested, confessed under torture, and died in prison from his wounds. The second story involves Esperanza Rod̐urguez, a biracial Mexican woman tried by the Inquisition in the 1640s for secretly practicing Judaism. In Seville, Rod̐urguez had been a slave of a New Christian (converted Jewish) woman, who introduced her to Judaism before freeing her. Rod̐urguez accepted Judaism in order to close the social gap that separated her from her former owner. But she was eventually tortured into confessing her religion, and she died in prison."-- Back cover. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Genre/form | History. |
| LCCN | 2020022455 |
| ISBN | 9781558769533 |
| ISBN | 9781558769526 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 1558769528 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 1558769536 (paperback) |
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