TORRES, LUIS DE

TORRES, LUIS DE (15th–16th cent.), Spanish interpreter to christopher columbus on his first voyage of discovery in 1492. Contrary to what was formerly believed, he was the only person of Jewish birth who was among the companions of Christopher Columbus on his first voyage, having been baptized shortly before the expedition sailed. He knew Hebrew, Aramaic, and some Arabic. When Columbus landed in Cuba, convinced it was the mainland, he took possession of it for Spain and dispatched Torres with a party into the interior to see if they could find gold. Torres reported back that the natives were friendly, that he had found no gold but that he had seen men putting thin rolls of dried leaves called tobacco into their mouths, lighting them and blowing out clouds of smoke. Torres settled in Cuba and won the friendship of the Indian ruler who gave him land and slaves. He soon set up his own small empire. As an independent ruler of Spanish territory, he received an annual allowance from the Spanish royal family. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Roth, Marranos; M. Kayserling, Christopher Columbus … (19072).