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On this day…in 1618

An English explorer, soldier, and writer, Sir Walter Raleigh faced imprisonment in the Tower of London and was eventually executed after being charged with treason by James I.

He became a favorite of Queen Elizabeth after serving in her army in Ireland, following his studies at Oxford and his service in the Huguenot army in France.

Knighted in 1585, he quickly rose to the rank of captain of the queen’s guard within two years. From 1584 to 1589, he founded a colony close to Roanoke Island, which he named Virginia. Unfortunately, much of his literary work and poetry from that period was lost.

Born in Hayes Barton, Devon, England, he was a courtier, explorer, soldier, and writer. His education at Oxford preceded his involvement with the Huguenot army in France (1569).

A contender against the Earl of Essex for the queen’s affections, he distinguished himself (1580) while serving in Elizabeth’s army in Ireland through his severe actions during the siege of Smerwick and the settlement of English and Scots Protestants in Munster. Elizabeth rewarded him with a vast estate in Ireland, conferred knighthood on him (1585), and granted him trading privileges and the authority to colonize America.

In 1587, he conducted explorations from North Carolina to what is now Florida, naming the area Virginia to honor Elizabeth, the “Virgin Queen.” That same year, Raleigh dispatched a second expedition of colonists to Roanoke, which ultimately met with disaster. In 1588, he participated in the defeat of the Spanish Armada and led various raids against Spanish territories, returning with significant plunder.

Raleigh lost Elizabeth’s favor due to his courtship and subsequent marriage to one of her maids-of-honor, Bessy Throckmorton, and he was imprisoned in the Tower (1592). On his release, he attempted to regain his standing by leading an unsuccessful expedition to Guiana in search of El Dorado, a mythical land of gold. However, he instead introduced the potato plant and the use of tobacco to England and Ireland.

Distrustful and fearful of Raleigh, James I charged him with treason, initially condemning him to death but later commuting the sentence to imprisonment in the Tower (1603).

While in the Tower, Raleigh lived with his wife and servants, where he composed his History of the World (1614).

In 1616, he was released to seek gold in South America. Directly contradicting the king’s agreement with the Spanish, he invaded and plundered Spanish territory but was compelled to return to England empty-handed and was subsequently arrested per the king’s orders. His original treason sentence was reinstated, leading to his execution at Westminster.

As a talented poet, writer, and scholar, many of his works and poems were lost. A forerunner of the Italian sonnet form in English, he also supported the arts, particularly Edmund Spenser during the creation of The Faerie Queene (1589–96).

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