Golden Bracelets, Common Threads

Steven BSL Vajda

Description

"Golden Bracelets, Common Threads" is the fictional story of the Ramón family whose quest for religious freedom leads to the New World. In 1495, King Ferdinand's Inquisitor is assassinated spurring a brutal massacre of the Jewish community. Young Moisés escapes. His exodus, guided by Fate, leads him to Portugal with two golden bracelets, mementos of love and remembrance, which he slips from the wrists of his dead mother. He takes a voyage of discovery to Brazil, Africa, and India. He settles in northeast Brazil. Generations later, when the merciless Portuguese Inquisitors arrive, Moisés' descendant must flee. His exodus to New Amsterdam in 1654 fulfills his family's Destiny. Six generations are linked by the common threads of tradition and by the two golden bracelets, symbols of the family's historic journey. Skillfully written and richly detailed, Golden Bracelets, Common Threads is an entertaining and entirely believable historical fiction novel about Fate, Family, and Destiny.

Sujets

• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 21 février 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781439270158
• Langue: English

Extrait

DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to my parents, George and Lois Vajda, who gave me life, guidance, and love. Through their vision of my Destiny, this book has become a reality.
Mouth of the Cahy River with Monte Pascoal in the background. Location of Cabral’s discovery of Brazil in 1500. Photograph by Marcelo Mejias provided by Pousada Guaratiba, Bahia, Brazil
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Writing a book takes the hard work of a team of professionals assisting the author in achieving the goal of entertaining readers and providing a positive literary experience that is visually and mentally appealing.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family and friends for their encouragement and critique during the development of the story, the characters, and the style of the original manuscript. Although much of the historical background was done using various sources from the Internet and libraries, important details were provided in Brazil by Dr. Tânia Neumann Kaufman in Recife, Pernambuco, and Marcelo Miranda Guimarães in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Enthusiastic support, text additions, and cover design considerations were provided by Rabbi Micah Caplan of Bet Shira Congregation in Miami, Florida.
Special acknowledgment is offered to Mr. Lon Ohlfest for the excellent cover photography and to Ms. Jennifer Mendoza, graphic designer, for the style and placement of the cover text and layout.
The map entitled The Voyage of Pedro Álvares Cabral, 1500-01, was reprinted with permission from the book “The Voyage of Pedro Álvares Cabral to Brazil and India, Translated with Introduction and Notes by William Brooks Greenlee”, printed for the Hakluyt Society, London, by Asian Educational Services; Reprint, New Delhi, 1995. The Hakluyt Society was established in 1846 for the purpose of printing rare or unpublished Voyages and Travels. For further information please see their website at www.hak­luyt.com .
I would be remiss if I did not offer final acknowledgment and tribute to the estimated thirty-two thousand Jewish martyrs who died during the Spanish Inquisition and Portuguese Inquisition. Their sacrifice led their descendants to Brazil and finally to New Amsterdam and the New World to find religious freedom.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COVER IMAGE
TITLE PAGE
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
FACT vs. FICTION
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE. THE END AND THE BEGINNING
CHAPTER TWO. OLD DEATH, NEW LIFE
CHAPTER THREE. THE PROPOSAL THAT CHANGED HISTORY
CHAPTER FOUR. THE VOYAGE INTO THE FUTURE
CHAPTER FIVE. INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH
CHAPTER SIX. ESCAPE TO THE NEW WORLD
CHAPTER SEVEN. LIFE IN THE NEW WORLD
CHAPTER EIGHT. KIDNAPPED
CHAPTER NINE. CAUGHT IN THE INQUISITION’S WEB
CHAPTER TEN. NEW HOLLAND, OLD FEARS
CHAPTER ELEVEN. THE FINAL EXODUS
EPILOGUE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
COPYRIGHT & PERMISSIONS
BACKCOVER
INTRODUCTION
“To vanquish Fortune; that is what a man should strive to do.” This quotation (in the novel Pompeii by Robert Harris) is attributed to Pliny the Elder, the famous Roman philosopher.
It expresses Pliny’s belief that the ultimate achievement for all men and women is overcoming the obstacles in one’s life, defeating oppression, surviving hardship, and changing predetermined outcomes. How few throughout history have risen to this challenge! Has anyone? Perhaps Pliny knew something about Fate (which he referred to as “ Fortune ”) and Destiny that we may consider only briefly, shrug, sigh, and then continue with our daily lives. Can Fate determine our future? Is Destiny where our future resides? Are they intertwined and inseparable?
Golden Bracelets, Common Threads is an exciting story of a fictional Jewish family’s Fate becoming the Destiny of an entire people. It is a story that weaves through the pages of history for more than 150 years. It begins with the surviving son from the Spanish Inquisition escaping to Portugal, then leaving on a voyage across countries and oceans, fleeing the Portuguese Inquisition to Brazil, and how the invisible hands of Fate would lead his descendant to his Destiny in New Amsterdam in 1654, as the first Jew in the New World. It is also the story of how an entire religious group faced the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions, how they followed their commandments silently and secretly, and how they ultimately achieved religious freedom.
These two forces, Fate and Destiny, are symbolized in the book by two golden bracelets intertwined with the story of this family. The importance of family and tradition, the common threads of generations and beliefs, overlay the events and the characters themselves.
Was it Fate and Destiny that intervened? Was it vanquishing Fortune as Pliny has directed us? Perhaps the golden bracelets hold the secret. You must judge for yourself.
FACT VS. FICTION
A historical novel such as this provides readers with an exceptional view into the crucible of events that have shaped our world. It is woven around a fictitious story that has many twists. The following clarifications, by chapter, will provide a helpful backdrop to the novel:
O NE. The facts about King Ferdinand, Queen Isabella, the Spanish Inquisition, Bishop Pedro Arbués, and Tomás Torquemada are presented accurately. However, Bishop Pedro Arbués was assassinated in 1485, not 1495. Cathedral La Seo has been described correctly. Other characters and events are fictional.
T WO. The Cresques from Mallorca were mapmakers. Other characters and events are fictional.
T HREE. The information regarding Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, Abraham Zacuto, King Manuel, and the origin of coffee is factual. Other characters and events are fictional.
F OUR. The voyage by Pedro Álvares Cabral to Brazil, Africa, and India is accurate. Gaspar da Gama and Master John were Conversos on the voyage. The Treaty of Tordesillas did exist. Other characters and events are fictional.
F IVE. The Jewish presence in Cochin is accurate. An “Anonymous Narrative” was written, but the writer is unknown. Other characters and events are fictional.
S IX. The facts of Vespucci’s voyage are accurate. The first captaincy was given to Fernão de Noronha, a Converso. Other characters and events are fictional.
S EVEN. The descriptions of the brazilwood trees; the ocean in Pernambuco, Brazil; the introduction of sugarcane and production of sugar; and the use of Converso supervisors are accurate. Other characters and events are fictional.
E IGHT. Portugal did establish a governor in Salvador, Bahia. A secret synagogue is believed to have been in the Big House in Camaragibe. The description of the sugarcane fields is accurate. The story of the touro is a rumor. Other characters and events are fictional.
N INE. The visitador’s activity in Brazil is true. The names of the Conversos interrogated by the Portuguese Inquisition are factual. The Pope’s pardon is true. The details of the Inquisition are factual. The Dutch attack on Salvador is true. Other characters and events are fictional.
T EN. The information about the Dutch in Brazil, Olinda, the Brazilian foods, Zur Israel Synagogue, Rabbi da Fonseca, and Old Recife is true. The descriptions of the quilombos and the facts regarding slaves in Brazil are accurate. Other characters and events are fictional.
E LEVEN. The ships Valk and St. Catherine are factual. The descriptions of New Amsterdam and Peter Stuyvesant are accurate. All other characters and events are fictional.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
1481: Moisés Ramón is born in Zaragoza, Spain.
1495: Moisés escapes to Portugal.
1496: Moisés is adopted by Yosef ben Avrahim in Lisbon.
1500: Moisés accompanies Cabral’s fleet to Brazil, India, and Africa.
1503: Moisés travels to Brazil with Fernão de Noronha.
1506: Moisés marries Sabastiana.
1511: Joshua is born.
1517: Flora is born.
1524: Yosef dies.
1530: Moisés dies of Malaria.
1535: Joshua marries Rachel.
1540: Edgardo is born.
1542: Manoel is born.
1554: Edgardo accidentally dies.
1562: Manoel marries Maria Elena.
1564: Sofia is born.
1568: Margarita is born.
1570: João is born.
1571. Maria Elena and two daughters are kidnapped.
1591: Joshua dies in Recife.
1602: João marries Luíza da Silva.
1603: Luís is born; Luíza dies during childbirth.
1609: Manoel dies.
1630: Luís faces the Inquisition in Recife and escapes; João dies fighting the Dutch.
1633: Luís marries Anika in Holland; they return to Recife.
1640: Moisés is born in Recife.
1654: The Portuguese defeat the Dutch; Moisés escapes to New Amsterdam.
PROLOGUE
The Iberian Peninsula has been the scene of historic events that have shaped the Western world. Originally home to Celtic tribes, it was conquered by the Roman Legions in 24 BCE, by the Visigoths in the fifth century CE, and by the Moors in 712 CE. Over a period of 350 years, the Moors were driven back to North Africa beginning with the victory of King Afonso in 1118 and ending with the capitulation of Granada to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1485.
The peninsula was divided into two countries beginning with the northwestern corner in which the Minho River (the frontier with Galicia) became the northern border of Portugal, which extended south to Algarve on the Atlantic coast. The remainder became Spain, which was divided into various provinces under the control of different monarchs in Castile, Aragón, Galicia, León, and Granada. With the marriage of Ferdinand (Aragón) and Isabella (Castile and León) in 1469, the consolidation into one country with one Royal Court was completed.
Because of these internal realignments, Spain was late to enter the exploration for new territories. Because the overland trade routes were controlled by the Ottoman Empire beginning in 1444, countries in Western Europe began exploring new routes to India and China. The funding of Columbus’s voyages to the New World in 1492 marked Spain’s entry into the “Age of Exploration.”
The costs to consolidate and run the country, together with the c