THE ABRAVANELS OF PORTUGAL
(Merging Fact and Fiction: Or What Happens When You Let a Non-historian Write History)
by David E. Bertao

New Amsterdam, 1675

When Joseph first caught sight of him, the stranger was just a speck on the horizon, a near motionless figure under a rising sun.  He watched apprehensively as this speck grew in size ever so slowly, now dipping out of sight, now reappearing, larger, more distinct, more human.  When exactly the human figure turned into a man, Joseph wasn't sure.  But certain details could now be discerned. The man wore light colored,loose fitting clothes, perhaps sailor clothes, with a sword dangling at his right side, sheathed, the lower end tied loosely about his leg.  He strode purposefully, if not hurriedly.  Joseph watched him nearing and mulled over possible reasons that might have brought this stranger to leave the safety of the village.

There must have been at least ten yards between the men when the stranger called out, "Good morning to you, friend."   Joseph nodded his head a bit, remained quiet, pensive.  He thought of his plan, its chance for success, for failure.  Doubts clouded his mind.

The stranger, breathing hard, his face flushed, his brow wet with perspiration, this in spite of a chill that hung in the air, walked up to Joseph and proudly announced in fluent Portuguese: "I am Ernesto de
Talavera, a Spaniard from the province of Andalusia.  I am looking for a man who calls himself Joseph Thomas, a Portuguese who came here about ten years ago.  I have brought important news about his father that I can only share with.him personally."

"Sr. Talavera, why do I have this feeling that you already know where this Joseph Thomas can be found?"

"Yes, Mr. Thomas, - Or is it Sr. Tomás? - I did ask some questions in the village and, well, they directed me to your farm here on the edge of these woods.  Can we talk in private?"

To himself, Joseph thought about how his plan just might have a chance after all.   Then, aloud,  "As you can see, we are quite alone.  But if you are still worried, please follow me around to the back of my house. No travelers will happen upon us there."

The two men found logs, still wet with the morning dew, to sit upon, facing each other, the woods on one side, Joseph's dwelling on the other.  It was Joseph who first broke the silence.  "Please speak, for I have work to do.  But if it concerns the murder of my father at the hands of a farrier's son, a man who quickly fled, and a good thing for him too, because if I had gotten my hands around his neck, there would have been two murders that sad day, if that is the news you have come with, then you are wasting your time."

"Patience, my friend, for I know all about the death of your father - Manuel Tomás, is it not? - and of your own quick departure from the island of Madeira.  Yes, I know that you are Portuguese and it took me quite a while to track you here.  Permit me, if you will, the pleasure of telling you a story about the Abravanels of Portugal.   It should not take too long and it does bear on the news I have come with."

Joseph stiffened, thought he heard his heart pounding.  For the first time, he realized that he was afraid.  "Go on.  I am listening."  His voice trembled ever so slightly.

Ernesto smiled and began his well-rehearsed talk: "The pre-Iberian history of the Abravanel family has not been well preserved.  All we have are bits and pieces.   It seems that this family claimed descent from King David, or maybe it was from some official in the court of King David.  I do not think they really knew.   Impressive, in any case.  As far as we can tell, a member of this family was part of the forced exile of Jews to Babylon.  About 1040, a descendant of that Babylonian immigrant, a Jew by the name of Hezekiah, was hung for reasons now lost in time.  He left two sons who were taken to Zaragoza in Christian Spain.  The descendants of one of Hezekiah's sons would come to be known
as the Abravanels."

Ernesto de Talavera adjusted his seating position on the log which was far from an ideal choice as a chair.  It was hard, covered with rough bark, and damp.  He looked at the woods, so near, so quiet, so ominous. Was he about to question this choice for a meeting?  Why out here?  Why not go indoors?  These were questions that went unasked and unanswered. Joseph, closely studying his Spanish visitor and sensing a change in his mood, blurted out:  "You seem very knowledgeable.  Please go on.  I am becoming more interested by the minute."

"Much obliged."  Ernesto de Talavera forgot his uncomfortable seat and launched into his narrative once again.  "The fact is that, whoever that son was who was brought to Spain, his name was not Abravanel.  The Abravanel name, often spelled Abrabanel and Abarbanel, was an Iberian evolution.  Although we do not know for sure what the name was originally, we can do a little educated guesswork.  In Spain, it has been a common practice to pronounce the "h" as an "f" or a "v".
Perhaps this has something to do with the sound of the guttural "h" that is found in the Hebrew and Arabic languages, both languages common in the Iberian peninsula during the Middle Ages. To offer a known example, Jehuda was sometimes spelled Jefuda, so the Abravanel name may have originally been Abraham plus a diminutive ending such as "ella". And, as you are probably aware, the Spaniards have a penchant for such endings.  Various spellings have been found in old manuscripts to support what I have just been saying: Abravanella, Abramanel, and Abrahamanel, to offer just three of many.   The Jewish custom of a son adopting his father's first name as his own last name, as in Joseph ben Abraham, was probably what caused the name to become a surname.

"The Abravanels, given what they had gone through, were very happy to be on the side of the Christians in the latter's reconquest of the Iberian peninsula from the Muslims.   As the Christians pushed their way south, the Abravanels moved with them, usually as tax collectors, eventually settling in Andalusia, in and around Sevilla.  The earliest Abravanel of whom we have information was Joseph Abravanel, a Jewish tax collector who lived in the time of Alfonso X, the Learned (1252-84)."

Ernesto de Talavera now raised his voice, as if to ensure that his listener would not miss a single word.  "Hear me out now, my friend, because what I'm about to say is very important.  One day while carrying out his duties, this Joseph Abravanel traveled to a poor area in the province of Andalusia in pursuit of his duties.  One Hermigio Pais, a small landowner, was unable to pay that which was demanded and he lost his property.  Now it should be emphasized that, for a Spaniard, owning
land is right up there with G-d, Country, and having a son.  So Hermigio vowed eternal vengeance on the Jewish people and on the Abravanel family in particular.   What he couldn't live long enough to do, he would bequeath to his descendants through his will to carry out.  Joseph, my friend, it was there in Andalusia about 1280, that the destinies of the Abravanel and Pais families came to be linked."

Ernesto de Talavera paused to catch his breath.  He was clearly becoming agitated.

"Other Spanish Abravanels followed such as Judah, a treasurer for King Ferdinand IV (1295-1312) and Samuel, a factor in the courts of three successive Castilian kings.   It was during the reign of Enrique III
(1368-79) that Samuel reached his highest position.  Descendants of the deceased Hermigio Pais were not idle, however, for they continued to spread rumors, lies, bribes - generation after generation - to cause whatever distress they could, not just to the Abravanels, but to all Jewish people.  They helped instigate the anti-Jewish riots of 1391. They were behind the successful efforts to have Samuel baptized as a Christian named Juan Sanchez de Sevilla and then to alert the right government officials when Samuel seemed to be having second thoughts. When Samuel fled to Portugal, part of the fortune that he left behind found its way to the Pais family.  In fact, this vendetta had beneficial
effects on the Pais family, increasing their personal wealth, their status in the community, and their influence in the Spanish government.

"Unfortunately for the Pais family, the Abravanels of Portugal thrived, reaching positions of great wealth, power, and status.  A few members of the Pais faimily relocated to Portugal.  But their influence there was slow in being established and not much could be done for many years.
For example, Judah, born in the late 1300s in Spain or the very early 1400s in Portugal and the son of Samuel, the Christian convert, rose to a position of great wealth as an importer/exporter in that country.

"It was with Judah's son, Isaac, born 1437 in Lisbon and later to become so well known as a writer and philosopher, that the Pais managed one of their greatest feats.   Because Isaac was well acquainted with the Duke of Bragança, who was suspected of fomenting a rebellion against
King John II, rumors were spread by a well-connected Pais that Isaac was also involved in the conspiracy.  This resulted in a demand that he appear before the king.   Isaac, suspecting treachery, fled to Spain on May 31, 1483, escaping the fate of the Duke of Bragança who was beheaded.  Because the Pais were well established in Spain, they made sure that Isaac did not find the rest there for which he had hoped. Partly as a result of efforts by the Pais family, all Jews were expelled
in 1492.  Shortly before the Abravanels were set to leave for the East, one Alvaro Pais concocted a scheme, often attributed to King Ferdinand who did not want Isaac to leave, to kidnap Judah's two-year old infant son.  Judah, who was born in the late 1450s, should not be confused with his grandfather, that other Judah whom we have already mentioned as being the son of Samuel.  This younger Judah had followed his father, Isaac, to Spain and later went on to his own fame with DIALOGHI DI AMORE (1535).   Somehow Judah learned of the scheme and sent his son, whom we
shall call 'little Isaac', with a nurse to Guimarães, Portugal.  Those Pais who had remained in Portugal had kept up their own anti-Jewish efforts and in 1497 all Jews still in the country were forcibly
converted to Christianity.  It was a Pais who alerted the authorities as to the whereabouts of little Isaac, who was baptized a Christian in Guimarães.

"Note that up until this time, the Pais family had restricted itself to only making trouble for the Abravanel family.  When the Portuguese Inquisition was enacted in the 1536 and legalized killing was
sanctioned, the Pais family found a new calling.  The family became a secular arm attached to that venerable body of ecclesiasts, aiding in investigations, and, when not enough of a case could be made against a wealthy person, serving as free lance executioners.  Once the person under investigation turned up dead, it was not all that difficult to take possession of the property.  After all, what could a widow do?   And if friends stepped forward to protest, charges of Judaizing would be
brought against them by the Inquisition.  This was usually enough to ensure their silence."

Ernesto paused briefly.  Joseph glanced quickly at the woods and then back at the speaker.

The Spaniard's loud voice once again pierced the silence.  "Let's get back to little Isaac, because we are now getting close to what I want to tell you.  This Abravanel grew up in Guimarães and somehow learned of his Jewish background.  As a result, he began to backslide.  Even worse,
he told his children and grandchildren.  One grandson, Luis Gomes de Medeiros, a physician, fled to Holland just ahead of the Inquisition, adopting there the name of Joseph Abravanel.  He had with him his wife, Grácia Vas Barbosa, and his two children named Jonas and Rachel. Another child, Manuel Tomás, born in 1585, chose to remain in the Catholic faith.  Nevertheless, he also fled Guimarães, apparently fearing an investigation by the Inquisition.  He went on to write works on Catholicism and on the history of Madeira.  The Pais family had no idea where he was until INSULANA DE MANUEL TOMÁS A JOÃO GONÇALVES DA CÁMARA, CONDE DE VILA NOVA DE CALHETA (1635), a book of poetry in ten cantos describing the development of Madeira Island, was published. Acting on a hunch, a Pais tracked him to Funchal.  Because he had led an exemplary life, no case could be brought against him.  So that same Pais, posing as a hunter, approached him in the woods one fine Spring day - April 10, 1665, to be exact - almost ten years ago today, and fired the fatal shot that ended his life.

"To protect his identity, this Pais had spread it around before the killing that he was the son of a farrier who lived in Lisbon and that he was interested in setting up a business in Funchal.  In fact, he was an
Inquisition "hit man".  Now you may want to know how I know all of this.   I know because Hermigio Pais, after he lost his land, adopted as a surname the name of the poor area where he had once farmed - Talavera.  We know him as Hermigio Pais de Talavera.  The man who killed your father, and who would have killed you, if you had been there in the woods, was Augustín Pais de Talavera, Hermigio's direct descendant and also my father, I am proud to say.  You see, my full name is Ernesto Pais de Talavera and I know you to be José Tomás de Medeiros, otherwise known as Joseph Abravanel, a relapsed Jew and a descendant of your namesake who 400 years ago took the land of the Pais family.  Long live the Inquisition."

Leaping to his feet, he unsheathed his sword and swung it quickly back over his right shoulder.  Joseph froze, a scream stuck in his throat. But his plan, developed with the help of several friends from the village, would now save his life.  From the stillness of the forest erupted the sound of several muskets firing in near unison.   The balls embedded themselves in Ernesto Pais de Talavera's chest and side, causing him to stagger back from the impact.  Weakened, bleeding
profusely, he fell to his knees.  He looked toward the trees to see several bearded men in long black coats and black hats emerging out of the darkness of the woods.  As the Spaniard began to lose consciousness, he fell forward.

"Well, Joseph, that was close.  We got him just in time.  You know, he never once realized, when he was asking around the village about you, that he asking the wrong people, people who have had a lot of experience in the kind of trouble he was bringing.  It is almost a sixth sense with us.  Anyway,  methinks you are free."

"Perhaps I am, Jacob.  For now, anyway.  But I am still concerned about the future.  Will more Talaveras come?  Will they come in my lifetime? Or in that of my children or my grandchildren?"

Behind the men lay the crumpled body of a Spanish Christian who had come to the New World to steal a Portuguese Jew's freedom to worship and who had paid the ultimate price.   Blood ran freely from several open wounds, mixing with the rich moist earth of this new land, and taking with it the life of Ernesto Pais de Talavera.

Afterword

The Abravanel family was an historical one.  There are many books dealing with this memorable family, most focusing on Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508).  My information came primarily from B. Netanyahu, "Don Isaac Abravanel: Statesman & Philosopher" and the "Encyclopedia Judaica".  Cecil Roth, "The Spanish Inquisition", was a great help in understanding that institution.  One of the most interesting persons for me was Manuel Thomas (or Tomás) and his possible, though unproven, ties
to the Abravanel family.  My information on Thomas came primarily from Cecil Roth, "A Life of Menasseh ben Israel" and the "Grande Enciclopédia Portuguesa e Brasileira".  Rufina Mausembaum, the creator of this website, helped with email, such as the story of Hezekiah's hanging and of his sons coming to Spain.

Gaps in the record were filled by my own inventive - some might say "twisted" - mind.  For instance, we have no record of a Joseph Abravanel taking the land of a poor farmer named Hermigio Pais de Talavera.  In fact, my Pais de Talavera family represented fictional persons whom I created specifically for this story.  Also we have no knowledge of how Manuel Thomas was murdered, except that it was by a farrier's son.  If he had any children, we are ignorant.

For me, the Abravanel family came to represent a microcosm of the trials and tribulations of the Jewish people.  The Pais de Talavera family represented, of course, those who have sought to oppress the Jewish people down through time.  Ernesto Pais de Talavera's death in the New World was an early victory for freedom of religion in this country, but, as Joseph Abravanel senses at the end of the story, our right in the USA to freedom of worship should never be taken for granted.  Not even in a country where it is meant as a basic and unassailable right.

D. B.
Campbell, Ca
4/4/99

E-mail: Rufina Bernardetti Silva Mausenbaum