Sir Walter Raleigh 1554-1618
Introduction
Sir Walter Raleigh was a poet, politician, spy, and very good a man. An explorer who did lots in his lifetime. He went to found colony´s in present day states like Virginia or North Carolina. Sir Walter Raleigh was also a father, husband and very good company to Queen Elizabeth of England.
Sponsor countrys
All of his voyages were sponsored by England, he organized many, but only made a few. Raleigh did this because Queen Elizabeth would not let him leave. though he did leave, he found Virginia, which he named after Queen Elizabeth, the ¨virgin queen.¨ After that voyage he would make several others to Virginia, and North Carolina although the dates are uncertain.
Conflicts on the ship and purpose of exploration
Being an explorer in the 1500´s was not an easy task. Also during this time was the Spanish-English war. The Spanish armada would set up camp at the southern tip of Florida. Making it very hard to get to the new Americas. He went to the Americas, because there had not been any colony´s set there. Raleigh was one of the first. Luckily, Raleigh did not experience trouble from the natives in the area, now there is Raleigh, North Carolina named in honor of him.
Sir Walter Raleigh was very close to Queen Elizabeth. In his lifetime he was crowned the part of the royal navy guard. After she died in 1603 he was thrown in a dungeon because he was suspected to have been plotting against King James I and also stripped of his title. She treated him well and was part of the reason he did not make lots of journeys.
Sir Walter Raleigh with the Queen Elizabeth, as told by her maid
The queen sure has taken a liking to that Walter bloke. I thought whilst rushing to get the Queens tea. An important group of people were gathered at a long table in the great hall the servants had set up earlier in the evening. The tea pot screeched with steam as I hurried to pour her a cup. ¨Hurry now with my tea!¨ The queen shouted. As I walked in the room I overheard Walter Raleigh converse with Queen Elizabeth of England. ¨Elizabeth, I have a proposal, I would like to go to the new americas, on a ship. And create a new colony there!¨ He proposed this idea like it was his best. I did not doddle to get back into the kitchen and I heard only what I thought was an exaggerated reaction. ¨Absolutely not!¨ Yelled the queen. ¨You are too close to me to risk your life at sea!¨ I gasped, I could never even imagine such a ladylike woman like the queen snap like this. ¨Oh, Elizabeth please!¨ ¨No! But I like your idea! England will be the first to own the americas! I will send your cousin instead!¨ What I later found out is that Walters cousin, Sir Richard Grenville, was also at the table. ¨But you may organize the voyage if you would like.¨ Raleigh was heartbroken but the queen brought out the jester and would hear no more of the matter.
On his route he went towards newfoundland but then sailed down the the eastern tip of Virginia, then when he finished the expedition sailed north back to England.
The ship from the perspective of a sailor
The ship reeks of dirty men and rotting boards. Our captain, Sir Walter Raleigh, does not take control of the sailors. Just daydreams of the new world in his quarters. The men say there have been rumors sailors have been stealing raleigh´s food rations, he usually has a page bring it to him and sometimes comes out, but it is easy to steal from a page. I respect the captain and his wishes but some scurvy dogs do not think it´s right for him to spend all his time in a room instead of captaining a ship. ¨Land ho!¨ I hear the lookout say and and then cheers arouse from the tween deck and I bubble with excitement. We have reached Virginia!
The sir as a father
You might now know it but Sir Walter Raleigh was also a father. During a gathering after secret meetings, Raleigh married. He married Elizabeth Throckmorton, one of the queens attendants. When the Queen found out, she was furious and threw them in a tower. They also had a baby, though it died after birth complications. That was before all the journeys and explorations.
Traits
I think Sir Walter Raleigh was adventurous, he had the curiosity and bravery to go and found the first colony in the new americas. He made three journeys and had to survive them all to be the person he was. He had to fight to be able to go by Queen Elizabeth because he felt so strongly about it.
The foolish trip to the city of gold that left him dead
Sir Walter Raleigh was a foolish man and a firm believer in the famed city of gold, El Dorado. Many explorers in his day did. That was one of the journeys Queen Elizabeth let him make, he went to Spain in search of gold but came back empty-handed, that was one of the last journeys Sir Walter Raleigh would make. He did not find the city, but he did go again in 1616 after being let out of the tower. During this trip however, his men attacked a Spanish outpost without permission. They violated his pardon and a peace treaty with Spain. To please the Spanish he left back to England, and because he came back empty handed, he was arrested and executed on October 29th, 1618.
Conclusion
As you can see, Sir Walter Raleigh was an excellent explorer, father, poet, and politician.
Timeline
- 1552, Walter Raleigh was born
- 1585, Knighted by Queen Elizabeth
- 1591, Secretly married Elizabeth Throckmorton, also was sent to the dungeon for secretly marrying
- 1594, was sent on his first trip to El Dorado
- 1618, was executed in England