Jacob Abraham Curiel (a/k/a Diogo Peres da Costa)

JACOB CURIEL ( Koriel) (Portugal- Eretz Israel)

A former pirate, arrived in Eretz Israel. He had served as a captain on a Spanish ship before being arrested by the inquisition for being a crypto-Jew. Curiel aka Diego Perez D'acosta ( was freed by his sailors many of them Conversos (Marranos) whose families had suffered at the hand of the inquisition. Curiel plied the waters of the Caribbean with three ships attacking mostly Spanish vessels. According to Hayyim Vital he became repentant, moved to Safed and is buried near the Ari (Rabbi Isaac Luria).

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