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INTRODUCTORY NOTE
Sir Walter Raleigh may be taken as the great typical figure of the age
of Elizabeth. Courtier and statesman, soldier and sailor, scientist and man
of letters, he engaged in almost all the main lines of public activity in his
time, and was distinguished in them all.
His father was a Devonshire gentleman of property, connected with
many of the distinguished families of the south of England. Walter was
born about 1552 and was educated at Oxford. He first saw military service
in the Huguenot army in France in 1569, and in 1578 engaged, with his
half-brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, in the first of his expeditions against
the Spaniards. After some service in Ireland, he attracted the attention of
the Queen, and rapidly rose to the perilous position of her chief favorite.
With her approval, he fitted out two expeditions for the colonization of
Virginia, neither of which did his royal mistress permit him to lead in
person, and neither of which succeeded in establishing a permanent
settlement.
After about six years of high favor, Raleigh found his position at court
endangered by the rivalry of Essex, and in 1592, on returning from
convoying a squadron he had fitted out against the Spanish, he was thrown
into the Tower by the orders of the Queen, who had discovered an intrigue
between him and one of her ladies whom he subsequently married. He was
ultimately released, engaged in various naval exploits, and in 1594 sailed
for South America on the voyage described in the following narrative.
On the death of Elizabeth, Raleigh\'s misfortunes increased. He was
accused of treason against James I, condemned, reprieved, and imprisoned
for twelve years, during which he wrote his "History of the World," and
engaged in scientific researches. In 1616 he was liberated, to make another
attempt to find the gold mine in Venezuela; but the expedition was
disastrous, and, on his return, Raleigh was executed on the old charge in
1618. In his vices as in his virtues, Raleigh is a thorough representative of
the great adventurers who laid the foundations of the British Empire.
Sir Walter Raleigh may be taken as the great typical figure of the age
of Elizabeth. Courtier and statesman, soldier and sailor, scientist and man
of letters, he engaged in almost all the main lines of public activity in his
time, and was distinguished in them all.
His father was a Devonshire gentleman of property, connected with
many of the distinguished families of the south of England. Walter was
born about 1552 and was educated at Oxford. He first saw military service
in the Huguenot army in France in 1569, and in 1578 engaged, with his
half-brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, in the first of his expeditions against
the Spaniards. After some service in Ireland, he attracted the attention of
the Queen, and rapidly rose to the perilous position of her chief favorite.
With her approval, he fitted out two expeditions for the colonization of
Virginia, neither of which did his royal mistress permit him to lead in
person, and neither of which succeeded in establishing a permanent
settlement.
After about six years of high favor, Raleigh found his position at court
endangered by the rivalry of Essex, and in 1592, on returning from
convoying a squadron he had fitted out against the Spanish, he was thrown
into the Tower by the orders of the Queen, who had discovered an intrigue
between him and one of her ladies whom he subsequently married. He was
ultimately released, engaged in various naval exploits, and in 1594 sailed
for South America on the voyage described in the following narrative.
On the death of Elizabeth, Raleigh\'s misfortunes increased. He was
accused of treason against James I, condemned, reprieved, and imprisoned
for twelve years, during which he wrote his "History of the World," and
engaged in scientific researches. In 1616 he was liberated, to make another
attempt to find the gold mine in Venezuela; but the expedition was
disastrous, and, on his return, Raleigh was executed on the old charge in
1618. In his vices as in his virtues, Raleigh is a thorough representative of
the great adventurers who laid the foundations of the British Empire.
