Walter Raleigh as a Boy
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Ireland and Queen Elizabeth
In 1578, Raleigh traveled with his half-brother Sir Humphrey Gilbert on a voyage to find the Northwest Passage, but the voyage was sidetracked when they engaged in privateering against the Spanish. After losing a ship, they returned to England where they were scolded by the Privy Council. Here, Raleigh hit a low point. He was arrested twice for dueling, but his fortune shifted when the Desmond Rebellions broke out in Ireland.
This Irish revolt against English influence was crushed, and Raleigh used especially brutal tactics in conquering the cities of Smerwick and Munster. Queen Elizabeth was highly impressed by Raleigh, and she awarded him a vast estate in Ireland, had Raleigh knighted, and made him Captain of the Guard. He quickly became a favorite of Queen Elizabeth. His new-found position afforded him several advantages, but it also put him in the crosshairs if he messed up. Raleigh soon found out he was walking on thin ice.
Painting of Walter Raleigh
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Raleigh in North America
In 1784, Raleigh launched a series of naval expeditions from Europe to North America. His most notable expedition, though, led to the establishment of the famed Roanoke Colony in 1785. This was the first attempt by the English to establish a New World colony. Though Roanoke failed, his efforts where not futile, for they inspired the founding of the later Jamestown Colony. Raleigh also named the Virginia territories after Queen Elizabeth, the 'virgin queen' and he is credited - though some dispute this - with being the first to introduce the potato and tobacco crops into Ireland and England. Though this may sound like a bland achievement, the potato created another staple food source for Europe, and the tobacco markets proved quite lucrative. A man of many talents, he also fought against the famed and faled 1588 Spanish Armada invasion of England, which brought him more acclaim.
Raleigh grew careless, though, and soon took his newfound liberties too far when he had a secret affair with Bessy Throckmorton, a maid of honor to Queen Elizabeth. Outraged at his treachery, she had Raleigh imprisoned in the Tower of London, which originally served as a castle but was later converted into a prison and famously housed many English notables. Given the tower's enormous size, it was more like Raleigh was under house arrest than confined to a tiny cell. He married Throckmorton and they lived in the tower together, but Raleigh was too valuable a sea explorer to keep locked up, and the queen eventually released him.
Walter Raleigh alongside his son Walter
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Imprisonment Under a New Ruler
Raleigh's fortune worsened when James I became king. James did not care for Raleigh, as he suspected he was part of the so-called Main Plot, which was an attempt to replace James as king. James sentenced Raleigh to death, but commuted his sentence to imprisonment and, for the second time, Raleigh was imprisoned in the Tower of London from 1603-1614. Raleigh used his time well, though. He had already established himself as a fine poet, which was another endearing reason that Queen Elizabeth liked him, but wrote some of his most beloved works while imprisoned.
A few of his notable writings include 'A Vision upon this Conceit of the Fairy Queen,' 'A Farewell to False Love,' 'The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd,' and 'Song of Myself.' However, his most famous work written from prison was his 1614 historical work, The History of the World. Historians consider Raleigh's prose inspiring, but he was overshadowed by his more famous literary contemporaries.
Fall from Grace and El Dorado
Intrigued by the legend of El Dorado, James I released Raleigh from prison to allow him to search for this mysterious treasure. The gist of the legend centered on the Muisca Indians in South America in present-day Columbia. The legend was that when a new king arose, he was covered in gold dust during a festival and then plunged into Lake Guatavita. Other gold and jewels were tossed in after him to appease a god that lived underwater. The Spaniards had actually drained much of the lake in 1545 and found moderate gold but no great storehouse. Regardless, it became an obsession for men like Raleigh.
Like others before him, Raleigh came up empty-handed, and as before, he was sidetracked and meddled with Spanish territory. His son, Watt, was killed in the ensuing battle against the Spanish. James I was outraged at this diplomatic breach, and when the Spanish ambassador asked that Raleigh's death sentence being reinstated, James concurred, and had Raleigh beheaded in October 1618 when he returned to England.
William Segar painting of Walter Raleigh
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Lesson Summary
Sir Walter Raleigh, like so many Englishmen of his generation, wore many hats in his public life. His military career in Ireland showed his violent side, and yet it was what brought him into the inner circle of Queen Elizabeth. Though his poetry did not match the quality of Shakespeare or Marlowe, his notable vivid imagery was enriched immensely by his firsthand experiences. While his desire to make the Roanoke Colony a success failed, it established a pattern for later English colonization in North America. His relentless obsession with El Dorado both inspired future explorers and quite literally cost him his head. In his honor, Raleigh, North Carolina, was named after him.
