Isaac Halevy, King of the Jews

Historical context for this excerpt:

The action in this novel begins in Inquisition-era Spain. A group of crypto-Jews sail from Spain to the New World to conquer and settle territory, like Hernán Cortés and the other Spanish conquistadores.. Once on the high seas, they openly revert to Judaism, change their assumed Christian-Spanish names to their original Hebrew ones and ban the use of the Spanish language in favor of Hebrew. They settle in the most inaccessible reaches of the Mexican jungle and convert the local Indians, with whom they intermarry, to Judaism. These Jewish Indians have been waiting centuries for the Messiah to arrive and lead them to the Promised Land. By the 20-th Century, members of the village begin abandoning their homes to follow Mexican political leaders or revolutionaries, like Emiliano Zapata, whom they believe to be the Anointed One. Still others leave the village to see the wonders of Mexico City, or to travel to the Promised Land of California with other illegal immigrants. In the 20^th Century a group of them is brought to Israel, where the media believes them to be part of a political hoax. 

So many years had passed that he no longer remembered how many, and the most recent events seemed inextricably confused, while those from long before became clearer and more real, as though to give testimony that the only thing men truly possess is memory. And it was exactly the night of the great fire, the night in which this Mexican jungle was filled with flames...