Simon Fernandes time and piracy was an offence punishable by hanging, but in practice Fernandes was engaged in exactly the sort of behaviour to which Queen Elizabeth I of England was inclined to turn a blind eye. However, the Portuguese ambassador Francisco Giraldi vigorously protested Fernandes's activities to the Queen's ministers, after the alleged murder of seven Portuguese sailors, and in 1577 the 39-year-old Fernandes was arrested in Cardiff and taken to London to face trial. However, far from being hanged for his crimes, Fernandes was released, apparently with the connivance of Queen Elizabeth's spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham, who appears to have
Spymaster USA Spymaster USA Spymaster USA was an American television program originally made by Wall to Wall Television for The Learning Channel in 2003. The series was created by Jacqui Wilson for Europe and the United States. The US series was directed by Chris Holt and Dennis Lofgren, The series follows a group of real-life volunteers as they are trained by former spies, military, and law enforcement in espionage techniques, including maintaining a false identity, fitness, weapons handling, surveillance, persuasion and recruitment. The format uses by this series was based on the BBC program Spymaster (2002; UK) and has been expanded into