{"product_id":"the-underground-world-of-secret-jonathan-schorsch-9781558769533","title":"The Underground World of Secret Jews and Africans: Two Tales of Sex, Magic, and Survival in Colonial Cartagena and Mexico City","description":"\u003cp\u003eSpanish colonial society was divided into a caste system based on race and religion. Slaves comprised the lowest caste, leading some to seek power through African magic, while children of Jewish fathers and African women tried to gain social status by embracing Judaism-but in the process they risked retribution from the Spanish Inquisition, whose tribunals zealously prosecuted the perceived threat to the colonies from multicultural witchcraft and from alleged secret Jews.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese two tales illustrate the perils tied to religious identity and practice in the colonies. One, set in 17th-century Cartagena des ﾍndias, features a biracial surgeon who was famed for his magic powers. His lover, jealous of the other women in his life, reported him to the Inquisition. To bargain for his freedom, he denounced his wealthier colleague for secretly practicing Judaism. The colleague was arrested, confessed under torture, and died in prison from his wounds.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe second story involves Esperanza Rodr?uez, a biracial Mexican woman tried by the Inquisition in the 1640s for secretly practicing Judaism. In Seville, Rodr?uez had been a slave of a New Christian (converted Jewish) woman, who introduced her to Judaism before freeing her. Rodr?uez accepted Judaism in order to close the social gap that separated her from her former owner. But she was eventually tortured into confessing her religion, and she died in prison.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jonathan Schorsch\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1558769536\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781558769533\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Markus Wiener Publishers\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/06\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 202\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.67lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.46d","brand":"Jonathan Schorsch","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43987086409983,"sku":"9781558769533","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_4fda0ae1-f64c-4a4c-8e86-83d38633083e.jpg?v=1683286924","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-underground-world-of-secret-jonathan-schorsch-9781558769533","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}