Luis de Santángel
| Luis de Santángel | |
|---|---|
|
Luis de Santángel | |
| Born | Valencia, Spain |
| Died |
1498 Ávila, Spain |
| Occupation | Finance Minister |
Luis de Santángel (died 1498) was a baptized Jew and finance minister to Ferdinand II who persuaded Isabella I to support Christopher Columbus' voyage in 1492.
Columbus's voyage
Funding
In 1486, Ferdinand and Isabella had been presented with Columbus's plan. Afer consultation with advisers, they rejected it. To keep Columbus from taking his idea to another monarch, Ferdinand and Isabella presented him with an annuity of 12,000 maravedis (about $840), and in 1489, they provided him with documentation to obtain food and lodging in any Spanish municipality.
When Columbus had grown weary of the treatment that he was receiving from the leaders of Spain, he had begun to make arrangements to travel to the court of Charles VIII of France in January 1492. It was then that Luis de Santangel intervened on behalf of Columbus to persuade Isabella and convinced her that the prospect of converting Asia to Christianity made the voyage worth the risk.
Santangel had arranged for the majority of the financing for the voyage, contributing much from his own pocket and additional money he had borrowed. He did so to keep the Queen from having to pawn the crown jewels.
Columbus's first letter
Columbus's Letter on the First Voyage was addressed to Santangel.
Spanish Inquisition
Santangel's family had been persecuted during the Spanish Inquisition. His older cousin, with the same name, was beheaded during the inquisition.
Because of his service to Spain, on 30 May 1497, Ferdinand proclaimed in a royal decree that Santangel and his family, present and future, were to be protected from the Inquisition.
References
- Amler, Jane Frances. (1991). Christopher Columbus's Jewish Roots. London: Jason Aronson, Inc.
- Durant, Will. (1957). The Reformation: A History of European Civilization from Wyclif to Calvin: 1300-1564. New York: Simon and Schuster.
- Kayserling, Meyer. (1894). Christopher Columbus and the Participation of the Jews in the Spanish and Portuguese Discoveries. New York: Harmon Press.
- Morison, Samuel Eliot. (1955). Christopher Columbus, Mariner. London: Faber and Faber Ltd.