interest in Judaism. During his attempt to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Henry's representatives consulted with notable Italian Jews, and he attempted to justify his annulment using laws from the Old Testament. Later in Henry's reign Hebrew was first printed in England from 1524. While in 1549 the use of Hebrew was allowed to be used in private worship. Hidden Jews in England From the beginning of the 16th century, in the wake of the Spanish Inquisition, Jews began to return to England. Although Jews had to conceal their religion for fear of raising discourse, they needed only to conceal it loosely, and many Jews in England became known as Jews, despite their attempts to conceal their faith. Many hidden Jews made names for themselves while in England. One Marrano from Spain, Hector Nunes, played a vital role in English espionage by relaying intelligence from Spain to Queen Elizabeth's spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, on his merchant vessels. This information was instrumental in England's defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Another Jew who made a name for himself in England was Joachim Gaunse of Bohemia, who came to England as a metallurgist and metal engineer to aid in their defeat of Spain. Because of his work, Sir Walter Raleigh invited Gaunse to sail with him on an expedition to North America, where he became the first Jew to set foot on North American soil. Another Marrano gained attention in England for less patriotic reasons. Roderigo Lopez, who became personal physician to Elizabeth I, was bribed by the Spanish Crown to poison the Queen, and he was executed after the plan was discovered. This prompted a wave of anti-Jewish sentiment in England which had not been seen since the Jews' expulsion. In the wake of his trial, famous plays like William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and Christopher Marlowe's The Jew of Malta were written, both of which depict Jews in negative, stereotypical manners. Toward the middle of the 17th century a considerable number of Marrano merchants settled in London and formed there a secret congregation, at the head of which was Antonio Fernandez Carvajal and Samuel Maylott, a French merchant, who has many descendants in England. They conducted a large business with the Levant, East and West Indies, Canary Islands, and Brazil, and above all with the Netherlands and Spain. Francis Drake's quartermaster in his circumnavigation of the