CASTRO TARTAS, ISAAC

(c. 1625-47)

   Portuguese marrano martyr. He was the son of Portuguese New Christians (i.e. Jews converted to Christianity), who settled in Tartas in southern France. He lived in Amsterdam and Brazil before moving to Bahia. There he lived outwardly as a Catholic, but his pretence was detected and he was arrested. He was condemned and burned alive in Lisbon in 1647. He recited the Shema before he died, and his memory inspired many marranos in the diaspora.