Belmonte: A Tale of the Old World

In both Portugal and Spain, the 16th century saw the forces of expansion push their ships to discover the four corners of the world, while at the same time, the forces of contraction, manifesting in the Holy Inquisition, were at their cruelest. "Belmonte" is a story of four characters coming together, this time, from different directions, to forge their escape from the Old World of Europe.

Two of the four main characters are 18-year-old Jewish boys from the area around, Belmonte, Portugal, for centuries an epicenter of luso/Jewish culture. Belmonte was also the birthplace and residence of Pedro Ávares Cabral, the discoverer of Brazil and the maritime route to India. Davide Mendes de Oliveira is the son of a long line of rabbis in the Belmonte area. Through David's father, Rabbi Elias, the forbidden teachings of the Zohar, are introduced to Davide and Ruy, his best friend. Ruy Gonçalves is the son a medical doctor who is also a very successful overseas investor. Ruy's grandfather was the personal doctor, lifelong friend, and financial advisor of Pedro Alvarez Cabral. From the time of Cabral, a secret, Jewish, multi-national investment fund had been established to take advantage of overseas discoveries and commodity market capture. Daniel Almeyda, in his early 20's, is the son of a Captain of a merchant ship out of the Portuguese enclave city of Ceuta on the Moroccan coast. Daniel's father, Ahmad, is Muslim and his mother, Bela, is Jewish, and the daughter of the Jewish founder of the shipping company. Daniel's father and mother, with crew and boat, are hijacked by pirates under contract with the Portuguese Inquisition. Daniels' parents and crew are thrown overboard. When Daniel discovers this he vows vengeance and tracks one of the pirate captains to the Spanish port of Sanlucar de Barrameda. Juancinto Taranto is a 40-year-old Gypsy from Sevilla who was sentenced to 10 years of servitude in Colombia and Paraguay for killing a man who was molesting his wife as she danced flamenco to Juancinto's guitar. Juancinto returns after 10 years, in despair because two women who loved him in the New World are now dead due to his greed and selfishness. Returning to Sevilla, he learns that his son was killed in a fight protecting his mother as she danced. Solea's mother, La Gitanilla, a fortune-teller, stops Juancinto from ending his life and convinces him that his ultimate fate is in the New World. By 1565, the secretive overseas trading organization started by Cabral, was well-established in Lisboa, Sevilla, Amsterdam, London, Rio, and Goa, India. Success attracts the Inquisition. Many of the Jewish investors in Portugal, Spain, and India also participate in the secret study sessions of the Zohar. The Inquisition bears down on Goa and, through torture, discovers the treasonous international nature of the trading group and that many of the members take part in the secret study of the Zohar. All those involved are burned at the stake. The news takes 5 months to reach Lisboa and Sevilla, at which time, the fathers of Davide and Ruy understand that they are dead men and try to save their sons, who are now students at the university in Coimbra. The plan ultimately directs Davide and Ruy to the Spanish port of Sanlucar de Barrameda. Daniel, Juancinto, Ruy and Davide meet in Sanlucar. Daniel's family ship is discovered at the dock in Sanlucar, as well as the captain who stole it. Plans are made to lure the pirate captain into the nearby swampland and dispense justice, before signing up as crew to La Florida, the mid-Atlantic coast, and ultimately the Catawban town of Joara, where the sequel to Belmonte takes place.