Captain Jacob Curiel of Coimbra | |
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Born | 1514 Coimbra, Portugal |
Died | 1577 Coimbra, Portugal |
Allegiance | Spain |
Rank | Captain |
Children | Abraham Curiel, physician |
Relations | Fernão Nunes (brother) |
Jacob Curiel of Coimbra (1514-1576),[1] also known as Jacob Curiel or Duarte Nunes of Coimbra, was a prosperous Portuguese cloth merchant and navy commander.[2]
Curiel was born into a family of crypto-Jews, the brother of Fernão Nunes, and grandson of Jeronimo de Saldanha y Bovadilha, who was a Portuguese nobleman. Curiel rose to become a captain in the Spanish Navy, commanding two fleets. Upon discovering that Curiel was Jewish, his sailors freed him because they had respected him.[3][4] He was the father of Abraham Curiel.[5][6] Historian Jonathan Israel described him as one of the most influential merchants of the sixteenth century.[7]