Masters of difference : Creolization and the Jewish presence in Cabo Verde, 1497-1672

Abstract

Based on archival research in six countries, this thesis distils new documentary material into an analysis of the role of Sephardic cristãos novos in the formation of Creole society in Cabo Verde and Guiné (Caboverdean space). The role of pre-existing anti-Semitic stereotypes in otherization in the Atlantic world is examined; Sephardic involvement in Cabo Verde was accompanied by transference of subalternity in the Atlantic world from Sephardim to Africans, ensuring that the cristãos novos of Cabo Verde were, indeed, masters of difference. It is argued that the cristãos novos’ doubleness of identity facilitated their success in Cabo Verde, where protean cultural identities emerged. As a destination of (successful) escape for cristãos novos fleeing the Inquisition, Cabo Verde lacked effective control by the metropolis, and was a place where an autonomous Creole identity could develop in which malleable worldviews were key. The thesis highlights the pan-Atlantic nature of the cristão novo diaspora in the 17th century, where West Africa was of comparable importance to the American communities in Cartagena and Lima. The symbiotic relationship of hegemonies and rebellions against hegemonies is, finally, examined in this local and international framework which elucidates crucial aspects of the formation of Creole and modern identities.