Joseph ha-Kohen's Sefer ha-Indiaha-hadasha: a sixteenth-century Hebrew translation of Gómara's Historia general and its reinterpretation of Spanish imperialism.
Joseph ha-Kohen (1496–1575) was a Jewish doctor and historian from Genoa who wrote the first complete Hebrew book about the Americas, called Sefer ha-India ha-hadasha (Book of New India). His family had been forced out of Spain in 1492, and Ha-Kohen was expelled three times from Genoa. This experien...
| Published in: | Colonial Latin American Review Vol. 33; no. 4; pp. 510 - 535 |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Dec2024
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=182848559&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 182848559 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 10609164 LTA jtl: Colonial Latin American Review issn: 10609164 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Dec2024 vid: 33 iid: 4 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd artinfo: ui: 182848559 10.1080/10609164.2024.2429255 ppf: 510 ppct: 25 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 665KB tig: atl: Joseph ha-Kohen's Sefer ha-Indiaha-hadasha: a sixteenth-century Hebrew translation of Gómara's Historia general and its reinterpretation of Spanish imperialism. aug: au: Cassen, Flora affil: Washington University in St. Louis su: Imperialism Translations Language & languages Native Americans Cultural identity sug: subj: Imperialism Translations Language & languages Native Americans Cultural identity keyword: critique of colonialism cultural translation Francisco López de Gómara Hebrew literature Jewish resistance Joseph ha-Kohen mistranslation Sephardic Jews Spanish imperialism ab: Joseph ha-Kohen (1496–1575) was a Jewish doctor and historian from Genoa who wrote the first complete Hebrew book about the Americas, called Sefer ha-India ha-hadasha (Book of New India). His family had been forced out of Spain in 1492, and Ha-Kohen was expelled three times from Genoa. This experience of multiple exiles shaped how he saw the world and wrote about it. At first glance, Ha-Kohen's Sefer appears to be a straightforward Hebrew translation of Gómara's Historia general de las Indias. However, a closer examination reveals that Ha-Kohen combined translation with incisive criticism of Spanish conquest and colonialism. Through 'motivated mistranslations,' Ha-Kohen critiqued Spanish conquest from a Jewish perspective, downplaying Gómara's triumphalism and de-Christianizing the text. His translation offered Jewish readers a more humane portrayal of Native Americans and paralleled their oppression with Jewish suffering. By reframing the conquest narrative with biblical allusions, Ha-Kohen created a space for Jewish readers to engage with global knowledge while preserving their distinct cultural identity. His work constitutes a subtle form of literary resistance against Spanish imperialism and reinforced Jewish cultural boundaries in a Christian-dominated world. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Colonial Latin American Review is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Colonial Latin American Review holder: Taylor & Francis Ltd dt: @attributes: year: 2024 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
|---|