Claim: Brother of Jacob Curiel of Coimbra, whom he wrote letters to each other frequently, Fernão Nunes fled the inquisition to Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire, where he openly practiced his Judaism.
Evidence: Jacob and Fernão frequently wrote letters to each other. Nunes' brother was one Jacob Curiel of Coimbra, alias Duarte Nunes, founder of the Curiel family that would come to greatly influence European trade and diplomacy. Once Nunes fled the inquisition to Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire, where he openly practiced his Judaism.