The Woman Who Defied Kings: The Life and Times of Dona Gracia

The Woman Who Defied Kings: The Life and Times of Dona Gracia Nasi

The Woman Who Defied Kings is the first modern, comprehensive biography of DoÃ±a Gracia Nasi, an outstanding Jewish international banker during the Renaissance. A courageous leader, she used her wealth and connections to operate an underground railroad that saved hundreds of her fellow Spanish and Portuguese conversos (Jews who had been forced to convert to Catholicism) from the horrors of the Inquisition. Born in Lisbon in 1510, she later moved onto Antwerp, Venice, and Ferrara where she was constantly negotiating with kings and emperors for better conditions for her people. DoÃ±a Gracia Nasi helped lead a boycott of the Italian port of Ancona in retaliation for the burning of 23 of her people by the Inquisition - an outrageous act in an era when Jews were more accustomed to appeasement. Finally settling in Constantinople, she persuaded Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent to grant her a long-term lease on the Tiberias region of Palestine, where she spearheaded one of the earliest attempts to start an independent state for Jews in Isr'l. DoÃ±a Gracia Nasi is equally important to history because she shatters the stereotype of how women, especially Jewish women, conducted their lives during the Renaissance period. Some historians have called her the most important Jewish woman since Biblical times.
Country USA
Brand Paragon House Publishers
Manufacturer Paragon House
Binding Paperback
ReleaseDate 2002-06-15
UnitCount 1
Format Illustrated
EANs 9781557788290

Country	USA
Brand	Paragon House Publishers
Manufacturer	Paragon House
Binding	Paperback
ReleaseDate	2002-06-15
UnitCount	1
Format	Illustrated
EANs	9781557788290

The Woman Who Defied Kings: The Life and Times of Dona Gracia Nasi

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