Dom Jacob Curiel (26 September 1587 - 3 April 1664), known by his alias Dom Duarte Nunes da Costa, was a Sephardi Jewish merchant, diplomat, and nobleman. Curiel was educated at the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The ...

and the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

. In 1618 he acquired a historically significant

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

Moses Curiel was born. Around 1627 the family moved to Hamburg, Germany. Until 1640 he served as Agent to the

Iberian Union pt, União Ibérica , conventional_long_name =Iberian Union , common_name = , year_start = 1580 , date_start = 25 August , life_span = 1580–1640 , event_start = War of the Portuguese Succession , event_end = Portuguese Restoration War , ...

, but then choose for the Portuguese Crown. On 14 June 1641 Jacob Curiel was ennobled by

John IV of Portugal John IV ( pt, João, ; 19 March 1604 – 6 November 1656), nicknamed John the Restorer ( pt, João, o Restaurador), was the King of Portugal whose reign, lasting from 1640 until his death, began the Portuguese restoration of independence from H ...

. In 1645 his son Moses Curiel was appointed as Agent of the Portuguese Crown in Amsterdam. Solomon Curiel, Moses Curiel's son, assumed the position of Agent of the Portuguese Crown in Hamburg after his father's death in 1697.

References

Portuguese Jews Portuguese diplomats Portuguese knights University of Coimbra alumni University of Bolog