User:Cass Connolly/sandbox

= Gaspar da Gama = Gaspar da Gama (1444 c.-1510 c.) was a traveller of Jewish origin who acted as interpreter and provided many services to the Portuguese maritime explorations. After joining or being captured by Vasco da Gama on the West African coast, the two men sailed together for many years using Gaspar's knowledge as a maritime pilot to avoid otherwise pertinent dangers. Gaspar's life prior to Vasco da Gama is fairly unclear and undocumented, but it is speculated that the former was born in the Kingdom of Poland, in Poznań, and later naturalized in Portugal. After Gaspar boarded Vasco's ship under the direction of the South African ruler, the information becomes slightly more abundant. It becomes clear that Vasco quickly realized what an assistance Gaspar would be, and offered him a job on the fleet. Gaspar additionally, sailed with several Portuguese fleets between Europe and India, including the fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral that discovered Brazil and was known to speak several Eastern and Western languages.

A Man of Many Names
Gaspar da Gama is almost a mystery of a man. The documents that exist are simple chapters or even just mentions in different journals and manuscripts, usually concerning a different person. The curious thing about Gaspar is that throughout his life he was referred to as at least three names. Largely due to his religious conversions, Gaspar's last name varies throughout each text. Though they seem to be in a certain order, there is no hard evidence to show the true sequence of names--however, Gaspar's final surname is proven to have been da Gama. His first surname Almeida meant longing in Portuguese. The second surname, India, seems to have been attributed to his long stay in the Middle East and his conversion to Islam. Finally, he joined Vasco da Gama on his expedition, converted to Catholicism, and adopted his last surname Gama.

Religious Conversions
Throughout his documented life Gaspar da Gama was a part of three religions. Born in Eastern Europe, Gaspar started his life as a sephardic jew, but as he travelled around the Middle East he ended up in Western Africa he converted to Islam. Finally, after his encounter with Vasco da Gama, Gaspar was converted to Catholicism. In a show of devotion following his final conversion Gaspar adopted Vasco da Gama's surname, becoming Gaspar da Gama until his death.

Controversy
Gaspar da Gama is rooted in several controversies. First there is the debate over his birthplace, then where he died, and finally his devotion to his religions. Because of the lack of information of the birth of Gaspar, there's discourse on whether or not he was born in Poland or Yugoslavia. In terms of Gaspar's death there's no hard evidence on the exact locations. Some sources insist he died in Calicut, others argue it was Portugal , and further sources even argue there is no way of knowing. Finally, perhaps the largest controversy surrounding this Jewish pilot is his religion. Edward Kritzler, the author of Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean argued that after the inquisition all the Jewish conversos were not the Catholics they claimed to be, but rather continued to secretly practice the Jewish religion. According to this argument, Gaspar da Gama would have supposedly converted to Islam and Christianity simply to stay alive and he would have continued secretly in his Jewish practices. Other scholars dispute this belief, but the controversy over this man's religion still remains apparent.