Doctor Rodrigo Lopez
Rodrigo Lopez was a Portuguese physician who was in the service of Queen Elizabeth of England from the year 1589, until his death in the year 1594.
Born in Crato, Portugal, sometime in the year 1525, Rodrigo Lopez was raised by his parents in the New Christian faith. The Inquisition that was then raging through the country forced him to leave Portugal and from then on he was considered a Marrano, which was an extremely derogatory term in both Spain and Portugal normally reserved for Jews from the Iberian Peninsula.
Lopez managed to make his way to England and in the year 1559, he decided to settle in London where he resumed his medical profession. By virtue of his skill and capability, he soon secured a respected position as house physician at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. His stay there was marked by unpleasant incidents that were probably due to racial intolerance and the jealousy of his colleagues in the medical field. He thrived in the midst of all this hardship however and went on to establish a large client base, which was made up of many prominent and influential figures in English society, among them Robert Dudley and Francis Walsingham. Some of the more uncharitable critics of Rodrigo Lopez painted him in a less than favourable light and suggested that he had managed to attain this lofty standing not through any exceptional skill or talent in the medical practice, but rather through cunning flattery and tireless self-promotion. A pamphlet that was published in 1584 even went so far as to engage in a libellous attack against him. Although the full brunt of the pamphlet's attack was in fact aimed at Robert Dudley, Rodrigo Lopez was also accused of concocting poisons for Dudley and other prominent noblemen of the time.
Nevertheless, in the face of these controversies, Lopez went on to his highest honour yet when in the year 1586 he was finally appointed to the role of physician-in-chief to Queen Elizabeth. This was a lofty enough position for anyone but it was made all the more remarkable considering that Lopez was not even English.
Lopez was apparently able to sufficiently impress Queen Elizabeth with his talents, for in the year 1589, she granted him the sole authority to import aniseed and sumac into the country. It appeared that his success was unstoppable and he remained in this favoured position in the years leading up to his retirement. The fact that he was also viewed as devout Protestant no doubt contributed to the high regard that he enjoyed.
By October of the year 1593, Rodrigo Lopez was by all indications a wealthy and loyal member of the Royal court. He would however soon be implicated in a plot to poison the Queen. Arrested on January 1st, 1594, he would be convicted only a short time after in February, and later executed despite his claims of innocence. Even towards the end, the Queen doubted that he was actually guilty. He died on June 7th, 1594.
Original Authors:Doods Pangburn
Edit Update Authors: M.A.Harris
Updated On: 16/05/2008
