SIR WALTER RALEIGH: BIOGRAPHY, CONTRIBUTIONS, WORKS, PHRASES - ARTE - 2024

Sir Walter Raleigh (1552 - 1618) was an English corsair, explorer, courtier, politician, military man, and writer of the Elizabethan era. He tried to establish a colony in North America and also looked for El Dorado, a mythical city on the New Continent.

It was for a time the favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, who favored it especially after Raleigh lent her support during the Irish rebellion. He was then granted a patent by Queen Elizabeth to explore America and knighted in 1585.

Sir Walter Raleigh, by National Portrait Gallery, via Wikimedia Commons

He is famous for having introduced tobacco to the English population. Raleigh's good fortune with the monarch Elizabeth I ended the moment he secretly married one of the English sovereign's bridesmaids, which was interpreted as disrespectful.

He was imprisoned on different occasions, both by Isabel I and by her successor, Jacobo I. During an expedition to South America in 1616, the men of Raleigh sacked a Spanish camp and on returning to their country was sentenced to death for those actions.

As for the poetry that Raleigh wrote, he maintained a sober and medieval style. That is, he resisted the influence of the Italian Renaissance and the humanists, while preserving the English style with his pen.

Biography

Early years

Walter Raleigh was born between 1552 and 1554 in Hayes Barton, Devon, England. He was the son of Walter Raleigh with his third wife, Katherine Champernowne.

He was the youngest of the three children of the marriage. In addition, he had half siblings from both parents from previous liaisons.

Her siblings were named Carew and Margery. On her father's side she had three more siblings and from the marriage of her mother and Otho Gilbert they had been born: John, Humphrey and Adrian, all very close to little Walter.

The data concerning the childhood of Raleigh are scarce, although one of the few certainties is that his family used to be persecuted by the government of Maria I of England. They were Protestants and their aunt, Katherine Astley, was in fact the governess of Princess Elizabeth Tudor.

One of the long-term effects of the mistreatment of Catholics towards their immediate environment was the fact that Raleigh despised this faith. In addition to repudiating believers in Catholicism, he also developed a deep rejection against the Spanish.

Youth

It is known that when he was about 17 years old he was part of the wars of religion in France. Specifically, Raleigh was at the Battle of Jarnac, on March 3, 1569. There he fought for the so-called Huguenots, that is, the French Protestants.

Three years after the contests, his name was recorded in the records of the University of Oxford, however, in this institution he did not obtain a professional degree.

The reason was because a short time later he moved to an Inn of the Court, an inn of the court, in which those who wished to practice as lawyers in England were trained. Raleigh did not complete his studies there either, so he never graduated.

During those years he became very close to his brother Humphrey Gilbert, who was around this time his role model. Queen Elizabeth I granted Gilbert permission to explore and claim land in America that did not belong to other European nations.

Gilbert's first expedition, in which he was accompanied by Raleigh, was a failure. The sailors who accompanied them deserted and were forced to return without ever reaching the shores of the New World.

Favorite

From 1580 Walter Raleigh became a member of the court of Elizabeth I thanks to his family connections. However, the boy was extremely troublesome, so he was sent to Ireland.

In that country Raleigh was part of the English forces that controlled Desmond's second rebellion in Munster, with which the Fitzgerard tried to reduce the power of the queen.

The siege lasted three days, but after the surrender of the Catholics, Raleigh carried out a cruel slaughter of soldiers, women and clergy that earned him the support of the Protestants, the favor of Queen Elizabeth I and a large portion of land.

From that moment, the English sovereign handed Raleigh important positions within the government, as well as monopoly patents and great influence in different matters of State.

His brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, had raised enough resources to mount a second expedition that set out in 1583 for Newfoundland, where he claimed land for the crown.

The explorers returned by a different route and their ship sank in an undetermined place in the vicinity of the Azores islands. The patent held by her half brother was transferred to Raleigh after the former's death.

North America

Although Walter Raleigh did not secede from the court during his years as the queen's favorite, he did prepare an expedition to America. First, he sought help from academics to instruct his crew.

According to the deal reached with the crown, Raleigh would obtain a fifth of the gold and silver that were exploited in the territories that it could claim for England.

His envoys to America arrived on the shores of the current state known as North Carolina, whose capital was named "Raleigh" in honor of this character. This first colony failed due to lack of resources and the pioneers had to return the following year.

Walter Raleigh was ordained a knight in 1585, in the same way he was given the position of Governor of Virginia, which was the name with which the territory discovered by the courtier's explorers was baptized.

In 1587 a second attempt was made to colonize Virginia. Of the population that had been installed in the camp, no traces remained, although the houses remained intact. From that mysterious and curious event they were baptized as "the lost colony."

Rise and fall

In 1584 Raleigh was selected as a Member of Parliament representing Devon, his native county. In addition, he was elected by other places in different periods, among those counties were Mitchell, Dorset and Cornwall.

He also served as Lieutenant for Cornwall and Vice Admiral for Devon. Finally, in 1587 Elizabeth I named him captain of her royal guard and served as one of the queen's main custodians.

It was within the defense of Devon, in which the Spanish attacks on England were stopped. Due to conflicts at court, Raleigh decided to retire for a time to his properties in Ireland in 1589.

In early 1592, Elizabeth I assigned him the possession of Durham House; She probably didn't know then that Raleigh and her maid of honor, Elizabeth Throckmorton, had secretly married late last year.

Upon learning, the very offended and angry queen ordered the couple to be locked up in the Tower of London. Two months later she released Raleigh momentarily to oversee administrative matters and then put her back in prison until 1593.

Raleigh had with his wife two children who survived infancy, Walter, born in 1593 and Carew in 1605. After his release, the couple retired to Sherborne for a time.

Expeditions

The first time that Raleigh was part of an exploration crew was in 1595. That journey was destined for South America, specifically the territory of present-day Venezuela, where it sailed along the Orinoco River and other continental coasts.

Upon returning to the European continent, he published a book entitled The Discovery of the Great and Beautiful Empire of Guyana. In that work she exaggerated everything she saw during her trip and spoke of her search for a legendary and very rich city, which fueled the legend of El Dorado.

After this he participated in two acts of war against Spain, the first was the sacking of the port of Cádiz. Then he left again to try the same adventure in the Azores islands, however, this was a failure.

Both times Raleigh was under the leadership of Elizabeth I's other favorite and her personal enemy: the Earl of Essex, Robert Devereux. All the blame for the failure fell on Devereux's shoulders and left him in good standing.

For those same months he was given the post of governor of the island of Jersey, which was located on the Normandy coast. However, his vindication with the British monarch did not last long, since she died in 1603 and Raleigh lost all his influence in the government.

New government

The heir to the throne was James I and the new sovereign was not in the best disposition to accept Walter Raleigh among his men. Especially because of the explorer's propensity to be aggressive against Spain, a country with which England at the time desired a peaceful relationship.

So James I had Raleigh captured in July 1603 and sent straight to the Tower of London. He was charged with conspiring against the new king and, although he was sentenced guilty and sentenced to death, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

He was a prisoner until about 1616, the date on which Jacobo I arranged for him to leave with a new expedition to Venezuela to search for El Dorado. Things got out of hand when Raleigh's men attacked a Spanish camp near the Orinoco.

They had violated the peace treaty between both nations and also the eldest son of Raleigh died in the confrontation. As compensation for the offense, the Spanish ambassador required James I to execute the leader of the expedition that attacked them and this was granted without complaint.

Upon entering British territory, Raleigh's presence was requested in London and he was taken to the capital immediately.

Death

Sir Walter Raleigh was executed on October 29, 1618, at Westminster. He was ordered, as was the custom for noblemen in England, to be beheaded.

His body was buried in the local cemetery and his embalmed head was sent to his wife, who kept it until the time of his death.

Contributions

The enthusiasm of Walter Raleigh's narratives is considered by many to be central to the consolidation of the English desire to become an empire.

Especially his texts about the New World aroused interest in discovering and possessing American wealth.

It has also been said that Raleigh men were the ones who brought tobacco to England and he took it upon himself to make it a fad among aristocrats.

Although other Europeans had already taken up this custom, it was introduced to the British by settlers who returned from Roanoke Island. At that time, tobacco was thought to have good properties.

Jacobo I disliked this habit, so he spoke out against it publicly and during his government special taxes were imposed on him.

Plays

The Opinion of Mr. Rawley, upon motions made to hym for the meanes of subduing the Rebellion in Monster, 1582 - Mr. Raleigh's opinion on motions submitted to him for the purpose of subduing the rebellion in Munster.

- Report of the Truth of the Fight about the Isles of the Azores, 1591.

- The Discoverie of the large and bewtiful Empire of Guiana, 1596.

- A Discourse touching a War with Spain, and of the Protecting of the Netherlands), 1603.

- The History of the World, 1614.

- Apology for the voyage to Guyana (Apologie for the Voyage to Guiana), 1618.

Attributed poetry

- The Advice.

- Another of the Same.

- Conceit begotten by the Eyes.

- Epitaph on Sir Philip Sidney.

- Epitaph on the Earl of Leicester.

- Even such is Time.

- The Excuse.

- False Love.

- Farewell to the Court.

- If Cynthia be a Queen.

- The Lie.

- Like Hermit Poor.

- Lines from Catullus.

- Love and Time.

- My Body in the Walls captive.

- The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd.

- Of Spenser's Faery Queen.

- On the Snuff of a Candle.

- The Ocean's Love to Cynthia.

- A Poem entreating of Sorrow.

- A Poem put into my Lady Laiton's Pocket.

- The Pilgrimage.

- A Prognistication upon Cards and Dice.

- The Shepherd's Praise of Diana.

Phrases

- “Because he who rules the sea rules commerce; He who dominates the commerce of the world dominates the wealth of the world and, consequently, the world itself.

- “It is better not to be born than to be badly raised”.

- "Talking a lot is also a sign of vanity, since those who are generous in words are scarce in actions."

- "There is nothing exempt from the risk of mutation."

- "Corrupt seeds produce corrupt plants."

- "History has triumphed over time and together with it only eternity has triumphed."

References

1. En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Walter Raleigh. Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
2. Latham, A. (2020). Sir Walter Raleigh - Biography & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: britannica.com.
3. Wolfe, B. (2020). Raleigh, Sir Walter (ca. 1552–1618). Encyclopediavirginia.org. Available at: encyclopediavirginia.org.
4. En.wikiquote.org. (2020). Walter Raleigh - Wikiquote. Available at: en.wikiquote.org.
5. Thorpe, V. (2020). Elizabethan Bodyguard: Sir Walter Raleigh was the David Budd of his day. the Guardian. Available at: theguardian.com.
6. Bbc.co.uk. (2020). BBC - History - Historic Figures: Walter Raleigh (c.1552 - 1618). Available at: bbc.co.uk.