The Information of Francisco de Faria, Delivered at the Bar of the House of Commons.

(FARIA, FRANCISCO DE).

John Bill, Thomas Newcomb, and Henry Hills, Printers to the King

London

1680

On title, seal of Great Royal Crest, “Honi soit qui mal y pense.”

Roth, Magna Bibliotheca Anglo-Judaica, p. 248, no. 1.

Francisco de Faria was born in Pernambuco, Brazil, son of John de Faria, a Jew, of St. Giles, Belgium. The information de Faria provides here was considered essential in uncovering the infamous “Popish Plot,” a Catholic endeavor to overturn the Protestant government of England. We learn from his testimony that de Faria was recruited as an agent in Antwerp, where he made the acquaintance of several English Catholics, who convinced him to travel to London where he became pesonal assistant to the Portuguese ambassador. Along with his brother Abraham, Francisco de Faria was subsequently hired by the Portuguese as an assasin. A tale of considerable intrigue and suspense. See AJHSP, Vol. XX, pp. 115-32.