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Miguel de Barrios (also known as Daniel Levi de Barrios) (c.1625-1701), poet and historian, born in Montilla, a small town in Andalucía, Spain, into a family of crypto-Jews. Fearing the Inquisition, his family left Spain by 1650 and initially moved to Oran, which at the time was a Spanish enclave in Algeria. It seems that Miguel and his brother served in the Spanish army at Mers-el-Kebir during their time there. In 1667, when Jews and conversos were expelled from Oran, Barrios, along with many others, embarked for Italy, settling in Nice, which was then under the rule of the House of Savoy. Later, he went to Livorno, where he returned to Judaism, underwent circumcision, and adopted the name Daniel. Shortly after, he married Deborah Váez. In 1660, accompanied by his wife and 152 other individuals, mostly former conversos, Barrios sailed to the Netherlands Antilles with the hope of seeking fortune in the New World. He established himself in Tobago, but soon returned to Europe due to his wife's untimely death. In Amsterdam in 1662, he married Abigail da Pina, a former crypto-Jew from Morocco. Around the same period, he joined the Spanish army and spent the next twelve years residing in Brussels as a Catholic captain and Spanish poet, known as Capitan de Caballos. Although his wife remained in Amsterdam, he maintained his connection with the Jewish community there. In Brussels, he published his two major works, Flor de Apolo (1665) and Coro de las Musas (1672), as well as three dramas. In 1674, he left Brussels and returned to Amsterdam to reunite with his wife and two children. He publicly embraced Judaism once more, adopting the name Daniel Levi de Barrios. Like many Jews in Amsterdam, he became a follower of Shabbtai Zvi and, in 1675, prepared for the anticipated arrival of the supposed Messiah through fasting. While continuing to work on his poetic endeavours, he increasingly delved into historical writing. His Historia universal judáica aimed to provide an overview of Jewish history, while Casa de Jacob focused on the initial Jewish settlement in Holland. In 1683, he took a metaphorical stance against the theological ideas considered heretical of the philosophers Juan de Prado and Baruch Spinoza. Although Miguel de Barrios struggled to support himself and his family with occasional poetry and small poems praising wealthier Sephardi individuals, he regularly received assistance from the Portuguese community. His writings often serve as the sole sources of information about Jewish scholars, philanthropic institutions, and yeshivot of his time, although their content is occasionally embellished and thus less reliable. Miguel de Barrios was one of the most prolific poets and writers within the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community of his time, publishing approximately 30 works in Amsterdam and Antwerp throughout his lifetime.

Isaac Aboab da Fonseca (also known as São João de Luz) (1605-1693), rabbi, as rabbi of Recife in Brazil, he is the first rabbi known to have served a Jewish community in the Americas, born in Castro Daire (Castro d'Ayre), Portugal, into a crypto-Jewish family. Following the increasing pressure of the Inquisition, Aboab was brought to Amsterdam as a child, when his family like many other crypto-Jewish families left Portugal. In Amsterdam, even as a young teenager, he gained recognition as an exceptional rabbi, gifted orator, respected teacher, and skilled translator of Kabalistic texts from Hebrew and Spanish. Already at  the age of 21, he was appointed as the leader of one of Amsterdam's three congregations. In 1642, Aboab moved to Brazil to oversee the burgeoning Jewish community that was established in Recife, at the time part of the Dutch possessions in South America, thus becoming the first Jewish religious leader in all of America. During this time, he also authored a number of texts, apparently the first works written in Hebrew in America. From 1642 to 1654, he served as the rabbi of the Jewish community in Recife, actively participating in the defense of the city, which had long been under siege by the Portuguese. When Recife was recaptured, the Dutch stipulated in the terms of surrender that the lives of the Jews be spared. Some of them went on to establish the community of New Amsterdam (later known as New York), while others, including Isaac Aboab, returned to the Netherlands.

Upon his return to Amsterdam, Aboab assumed leadership of a yeshiva and became a member of the rabbinical tribunal. He played a significant role in representing the kabbalist tradition of Isaac Luria in Amsterdam. He translated from Hebrew into Spanish the works of the philosopher and kabbalist Abraham Cohen de Herrera (c.1570-c.1635).

Aboab served as the head of the Sephardic community during the inauguration of the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam in 1672. Additionally, he was one of the signatories of the edict of the herem (ban) against Baruch Spinoza in 1656.

Isaac (Fernando) Cardoso (c.1603-1683), physician, philosopher, and polemic writer, born in Trancoso, Portugal, into a family of crypto-Jews. His family moved to Medina de Rioseco, a town in Castilla, Spain in 1610. Cardoso studied medicine, philosophy, and natural sciences at the University of Salamanca earning a Bachelor of Arts degree as well as a degree in medicine.

In 1624, Cardoso obtained by competition the chair of philosophy at the University of Valladolid. Consequently, he settled in Valladolid, where he practiced medicine alongside his academic pursuits. As his career progressed, Cardoso published notable works, including laudatory compositions dedicated to individuals such as the Judaizing captain Villarreal and the lawyer Quiñones. 

Later on, Cardoso moved to Madrid, where he gained recognition for his pamphlet on fever and a Latin treatise on hydrotherapy titled On the Utilities of Water and Snow, of Hot and Cold Drinking, which he dedicated to King Phillip IV. He also composed a funeral speech honoring the playwright Lope de Vega, and a dissertation exploring the origin and restoration of the world.

Until 1648, Ferdinand served as a physician at the Spanish court. But the decline of the Count-Duke of Olivares, who had been a protector of the Sephardic Jews, and the threat of the Inquisition prompted Cardoso alongside his brother Miguel Cardoso, who also was a physician, to leave Spain and seek refuge in Venice. It was in Venice that he returned to Judaism and changed his name from Ferdinand to Isaac.

Cardoso opposed the mystical practices of the Kabbalah. He particularly confronted the pseudo-messiah Shabbtai Zvi, and he also criticized the doctrine of the transmigration of souls. In 1652, Cardoso, along with his wife and an extensive library comprising over 6,000 volumes, settled in Verona, where he practiced medicine until his death in 1683.

Most of his writings were composed in Latin. According to Miguel de Barrios, Cardoso also authored a volume of poetry and a work titled Excellencies of the Hebrews, which served as a defense of the Jewish people and displayed Cardoso’s profound erudition in ancient and modern history. Cardoso is best remembered for Philosophia Libera in Septem Libros Distribute (1673), a comprehensive treatise covering cosmogony, physics, medicine, philosophy, theology, and natural sciences in which he critiqued the teachings of Aristotle.