Jacob Curiel of Coimbra (1514-1576), also known as Jacob Curiel or Duarte Nunes of Coimbra, was a prosperous Portuguese cloth merchant and navy commander.

Life and career

Curiel was born into a family of

crypto-Jews Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Jews" (origin from Greek ''kryptos'' – , 'hidden'). The term is especially applied historically to Sp ...

, the brother of

Fernão Nunes Fernão Nunes, also known as ''Fernao Nuniz'', was a Portuguese-Jewish traveler, chronicler and horse trader who spent three years in Vijayanagara, capital of the Vijayanagara Empire in the time period 1535-1537. His writings have brought to light ...

, and grandson of Jeronimo de Saldanha y Bovadilha, who was a Portuguese nobleman. Curiel rose to become a captain in the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

, commanding two fleets. Upon discovering that Curiel was Jewish, his sailors freed him because they had respected him. He was the father of

Abraham Curiel Abraham Curiel (1545-1609), alias Jeronimo Nunes Ramires, was a physician and the son of the wealthy merchant Jacob Curiel of Coimbra of Coimbra. Curiel is described in several sources as "one of the greatest doctors of his time." Education Ab ...

. Historian

Jonathan Israel Jonathan Irvine Israel (born 26 January 1946) is a British writer and academic specialising in Dutch history, the Age of Enlightenment and European Jews. Israel was appointed as Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the School of Historical Studies a ...

described him as one of the most influential merchants of the sixteenth century.

References

{{Authority control Curiel family Spanish merchants 1514 births 1576 deaths European Sephardi Jews