The story has been told that all Nunes/Nunez families were originally Jewish from Israel who escaped from the Assyrians when they captured the city of Jerusalem. They scattered to the ends of the earth; some made their way to Spain and Portugal, and still others to Europe. In the late 1500's there was the Inquisition that forced all Jews to convert to Roman-Catholicism or die, many of them converted, many died and many ran away to Hawaii or the Caribbean. Most converted to whatever religion they felt met their needs and many went back to their Jewish heritage.
The NUNES family is a direct descendent of the royal house of King DAVID of ISRAEL. The Nunes family went to Spain about 2000 years ago, during the time of King Nebuchanezer (king of Assyria). He conquered Israel and "kicked" out the royal family. From there the Nunes family (formerly known as Ben-Nun) went to Greece to Italy to Spain and Portugal. They lived there in peace and equality under the Moorish-Muslim Empire of the Al-Andalucians and the Al-Mohads, then came the Christians (Roman Catholics) and conquered the land from the Moors. For about 500 years there was no problem but in the 1800s Spain began eliminating the Jewish and Muslim families because they wanted to make Spain an all Catholic country so the Jewish people ran to Portugal and the Muslims ran to Morroco. Spain threathened Portugal to do the same, which Portugal did. It was the first Holocaust, it was the Inquisition. Portugal and Spain forced all Jews (Nunes, Pereira, Lopes, Rodrigues, Fernandes, Torres, etc.....) to convert to Roman Catholicism and if they didn't convert they would be killed in the AUTOS DE FE in Lisbon. Many Jewish people did convert so they wouldn't die but a few ran away to Brazil, Eastern Europe, and the Carribean Islands. In the early 1900s Portugal and Spain became "RELIGIOUS FREEDOM" nations. This movement helped many of the Jewish descendents to return to their faith. There are now about 200,000 Jews and Muslims in Portugal. It has been said that ALL NUNES FAMILIES ARE JEWISH ANCESTRY. MAY GOD BE WITH YOU ALWAYS....
DR. SAMUEL NUNES, a former court physician in Spain was a practicing Catholic; however, in secret he was a SEPHARDIC JEW. When things got to bad in Spain, Dr. Nunez organized a plan to take his family away to London, England. One night they had a party and in the attendees was a ship captain. The party toured the ship and set sail for London, England that night. Little did the guest realize they were moving and sailing toward England and it was later that Dr. Nunez told the guest they would have a ship waiting for them in England for their return to Portugal at his expense. In 1732 there were 6,000 Jews living in London. All but eight of the original forty-two Jewish colonists were Spanish/Portuguese Jews who had arrived in London ten years earlier, having lived as Crypto-Jews, publicly practicing Roman Catholicism and secretly preserving their Jewish heritage, prior to their departure from Portugal. Among these sephardic Jews was Dr. Samuel Nunes Ribiero, a physician who had been imprisoned during the Inquisition for his successful efforts to convert New Christians back to the Jewish faith. It was in England that SAMUEL and his wife REBECCA were remarried in a Jewish ceremony. Rebecca gave birth to a son who died in England. Samuel & his wife, with his mother, ZIPPORAH NUNES, and grown children set sail to America with other Jewish families on the WILLIAM and SARAH. Forty-two brave pioneering Jews, the �largest group of Jews to land in North America in Colonial days� arrived in SAVANNAH on July 11, 1733, just five months after General James Edward Oglethorpe established the colony of Georgia
- The names of the Jews who arrived in Savannah, Georgia, on the 11th day of July, 1733
These persons were the first of our nation who came to this country. They brought with them a SAFER TORA, with TWO CLOAKS, and a CIRCUMSION BOX, which were given to them by Mr. Lindo, a merchant in London, for the use of the congregation they intended to establish"
When Dr. Samuel Nunez arrived in Savannah, Georgia there was an outbreak of yellow fever and many people were dying. James Oglethorpe almost did not let the Jewish immigrants land. Dr. Nunez assured Oglethorpe that he was a doctor of infectious diseases and could help the colony. The Georgia colony had lost their doctor sometime earlier and were much in need of a physician. James Oglethorpe realized here was an opportunity for good help during this epidemic in Savannah and he let the Jewish families remain. Oglethorpe also allotted a 1733 burial plot to the Savannah Jewish Community on Bull Street
