Isaac La Peyrère (1596–1676), also known as Isaac de La Peyrère or Pererius, was a French-born theologian, writer, and lawyer. La Peyrère is best known as a 17th-century predecessor of the scientific racialist theory of polygenism in the form of his Pre-Adamite hypothesis, which offered a challenge to traditional Abrahamic understandings of the descent of the human races as derived from the Book of Genesis. In addition to this, La Peyrère anticipated Zionism, advocating a Jewish return to Palestine, within the context of premillennialist Messianic theology. He moved in prominent circles and was known for his connections to the Prince of Condé and abdicated Queen Christina of Sweden. Born to a Huguenot family, possibly of Portuguese Jewish converso or Marrano heritage, La Peyrère was pressured to renounce his views and publicly converted to the Catholic Church towards the end of his life, though the sincerity of this conversion has been questioned. Biography Background La Peyrère's name is sometimes given in Latin as "Pererius", which is a version of Pereira. He was born in Bordeaux, France to a socially prominent family to parents Bernard La Peyrère and Marthre Malet, with eight siblings, most notable being his brother Abraham La Peyrère. His father was the private secretary to Jacques II de Goyon de Matignon, Maréchal de France, while on his mother's side, his grandfather was General Treasurer to the Royal House of Navarre. Both sides of La Peyrère's family were Calvinists, and many Bordeaux Protestants were suspected of being Marrano, or "secret Jews." While questions exist regarding a Jewish heritage, Richard Popkin brings forward evidence for making the argument that La Peyrère was of Marrano ancestry on his mother's side. La Peyrère was a lawyer by training. Condé and Christina of Sweden La Peyrère served as secretary to the Prince of Condé on whose orders he lived for one month in 1654 in a house in the Southern Netherlands adjoining that of the recently abdicated Queen Christina of Sweden. Christina is said to have financed the anonymous publication of Prae-Adamitae. During this time both Christina and La Peyrère met with Menasseh Ben Israel, who was later invited by Oliver Cromwell's government to England to negotiate the readmission of Jews to that country. Menasseh became a convert to La Peyrère's belief that the coming of the Jewish Messiah was imminent. La Peyrère also argued that the Messiah would join with the king of