SIR WALTER RALEGH: THE SETTLEMENTS AT ROANOKE AND VOYAGES TO GUIANA.
BY WILLIAM WIRT HENRY,
_Third Vice-President of the Virginia Historical Society._
HISTORY has recorded the lives of few men more renowned than Walter
Ralegh,—the soldier, the sailor, the statesman, the courtier, the
poet, the historian, and the philosopher. The age in which he lived,
the versatility of his genius, his conspicuous services, and “the deep
damnation of his taking off,” all conspired to exalt his memory among
men, and to render it immortal. Success often crowned his efforts in
the service of his country, and the impress of his genius is clearly
traced upon her history; but his greatest service to England and
to the world was his pioneer effort to colonize America, in which
he experienced the most mortifying defeat. Baffled in his endeavor
to plant the English race upon this continent, he yet called into
existence a spirit of enterprise which first gave Virginia, and then
North America, to that race, and which led Great Britain, from this
beginning, to dot the map of the world with her colonies, and through
them to become the greatest power of the earth.
[Illustration]
Walter Ralegh[211] was born, in 1552, in the parish of Budleigh, in
Devonshire. His father was Walter Ralegh, of Fardel, and his mother was
Catherine, daughter of Sir Philip Champernown, of Modbury, and widow of
Otho Gilbert, of Compton, in Devonshire. On his mother’s side he was
brother to Sir John, Sir Humphrey, and Sir Adrian Gilbert,—all eminent
men. He studied at Oxford with great success, but he left his books in
1569 to volunteer with his cousin, Henry Champernown, in aid of the
French Protestants in their desperate struggle for religious liberty
under the Prince of Condé and Admiral Coligny. He reached France in
time to be present at the battle of Moncontour, and remained six years,
during which time the massacre of St. Bartholomew occurred. Afterward
he served in the Netherlands with Sir John Norris under William of
Orange in his struggle with the Spaniards.
In these wars he became not only an accomplished soldier, but a
determined foe to Roman Catholicism and to the Spanish people. His
contest with Spain, thus early begun, ended only with his life. It
was indeed a war to the death on both sides. Elizabeth, his great
sovereign, with all the courage of a hero in the bosom of a woman,
sustained him in the conflict, and had the supreme satisfaction of
seeing him administer a death-blow to Spanish power at Cadiz; while her
pusillanimous successor rendered himself forever infamous by putting
such a conqueror to death at the mandate of the Spanish King.
[Illustration]
The claim of Spain to the New World, based upon its discovery by
Columbus, fortified by a grant from Pope Alexander VI. and further
strengthened by continued exploration and by settlements, was disputed,
at least as regards the northern continent, by England on the strength
of the Cabot voyages, of which an account has been given in the opening
chapter of this volume. The English claimed that they were entitled
to North America by the right of Cabot’s discovery of its mainland
preceding that of Columbus, who had not then touched the mainland at
the south. No serious effort was made, however, to follow up this claim
by a settlement till 1578, when Elizabeth granted to Sir Humphrey
Gilbert a charter looking to a permanent occupation of the country.
Sir Humphrey sailed in November, 1578, with seven ships and three
hundred and fifty men. One of the fleet, the “Falcon,” was commanded by
Ralegh, who had already learned to be a sailor as well as a soldier.
His presence with the expedition was not alone due to his attachment to
his distinguished brother. He had already discovered that the power of
Spain was due to the wealth she derived from her American possessions,
and he earnestly desired to secure for England the same source of
power. His attention had been attracted to the coast of Florida by
Coligny, whose colony of Huguenots there had been brutally murdered by
the Spaniards under Menendez in 1565.
The voyage of Gilbert met with disaster. In a short time all the ships
except Ralegh’s were forced to return. Ralegh determined to sail for
the West Indies, but when he had gone as far as the Islands of Cape
de Verde, upon the coast of Africa, he was forced by a scarcity of
provisions to return. He arrived at Plymouth in May, 1579, after having
experienced many dangerous adventures in storms and sea-fights.
Sir Humphrey had returned before him, and was busy preparing for a
renewal of the voyage; but an Order from the Privy Council, April 26,
prohibited their departure. The conflicts at sea seem to have been with
Spanish vessels, and complaints had been made to the Council concerning
them.
Ralegh spent but little time in vain regrets, but at once took service
in Ireland, where he commanded a company of English soldiers employed
to suppress the insurrection headed by the Earl of Desmond, who led a
mongrel force of Spaniards, Italians, and Irishmen. His service began
under the Lord Justice Pelham, and was continued under his successor,
Lord Grey. His genius and courage soon attracted public notice, and
won for him the favor of the Queen. Upon his return in 1582 he made
his appearance at court, and at once became that monarch’s favorite.
No one could have been better fitted to play the _rôle_ of courtier
to this clever, passionate, and capricious woman. Ralegh is described
by a contemporary as having “a good presence in a handsome and
well-compacted person; a strong natural wit, and a better judgment;
with a bold and plausible tongue, whereby he could set out his parts
to the best advantage.” He had the culture of a scholar and the fancy
of a poet, as well as the chivalry of a soldier; and he superadded to
these that which was equally as attractive to his mistress,—unrivalled
splendor in dress and equipage.
The Queen’s favor soon developed into magnificent gifts of riches
and honor. He was given the monopolies of granting license for the
export of broadcloths, and for the making of wines and regulating
their prices. He was endowed with the fine estates in five counties
forfeited to the Crown by the attainder of Anthony Babington, who
plotted the murder of Elizabeth in the interest of Mary of Scotland;
and with twelve thousand acres in Ireland, part of the land forfeited
by the Earl of Desmond and his followers. He was made Lord Warden of
the Stannaries, Lieutenant of the County of Cornwall, Vice-Admiral of
Cornwall and Devon, and Captain of the Queen’s Guard.
One of his Irish estates was near the home of Edmund Spenser, secretary
to Lord Grey during the Irish rebellion, and a visit which led to
a renewal of their friendship led also to the publication, at the
instance of Ralegh, of the _Faerie Queene_, in which Elizabeth is
represented as Belphœbe.
No sooner did Ralegh find that his fortune was made, than he determined
to accomplish the object of his passionate desire,—the English
colonization of America. He furnished one of the little fleet of
five ships with which Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed June 11, 1583,
upon his last and most disastrous voyage to America, and was only
prevented from going with him by the peremptory order of the Queen,
who was unwilling that her favorite should incur the risk of any
“dangerous sea-fights.” The gallant Sir Humphrey, after taking formal
possession of Newfoundland, sailed southward, but, experiencing a
series of disasters, went down with his ship in a storm on his return
homeward.[212]
Ralegh obtained a new charter, March 25, 1584, drawn more carefully
with a design to foster colonization. Not only was he empowered to
plant colonies upon “such remote heathen and barbarous lands, not
actually possessed by any Christian prince nor inhabited by Christian
people,” as he might discover, but the soil of such lands was to be
enjoyed by the colonies forever, and the colonies planted were to “have
all the privileges of free denizens and persons native of England,
in such ample manner as if they were born and personally resident in
our said realm of England, any law, etc., notwithstanding,” and they
were to be governed “according to such statutes as shall be by him or
them established; so that the said statutes or laws conform as near
as conveniently may be with those of England, and do not oppugn the
Christian faith, or any way withdraw the people of those lands from our
allegiance.”[213]
These guarantees of political rights, which first appeared in the
charter to Sir Humphrey Gilbert, were renewed in the subsequent charter
of 1606, under which the English colonies were planted in America, and
constituted one of the impregnable grounds upon which they afterwards
maintained the struggle which ended in a complete separation from the
mother country. It is doubtless to Ralegh that we are indebted for
these provisions, which justified the Virginia burgesses in declaring
in 1765,—
“That the first adventurers and settlers of this his Majesty’s colony
and dominion brought with them, and transmitted to their posterity
and all other his Majesty’s subjects since inhabiting in this his
Majesty’s said colony, all the privileges, franchises, and immunities
that have at any time been held, enjoyed, and possessed by the people
of Great Britain.”
Ralegh’s knowledge of the voyages of the Spaniards satisfied him that
they had not explored the Atlantic coast north of what is now known
as Florida, and he determined to plant a colony in this unexplored
region.[214] Two ships were immediately made ready, and they sailed
April 27, 1584, under the command of Captains Philip Amadas and Arthur
Barlowe, for the purpose of discovery, with a view to a permanent
colony.
On the 10th of May they reached the Canaries, on the 10th of June the
West Indies, and on the 4th of July the American coast. They sailed
northward one hundred and twenty miles before they found “any entrance
or river issuing into the sea.” They entered the first which they
discovered, probably that now known as New Inlet, and sailing a short
distance into the haven they cast anchor, and returned thanks to God
for their safe arrival. Manning their boats, they were soon on the
nearest land, and took possession of it in the name “of the Queen’s
most excellent Majestie, as rightful Queene and Princesse of the
same,” and afterwards “delivered the same over to Sir Walter Ralegh’s
use, according to her Majestie’s grant and letters patents under her
Highnesse great seale.” They found the land to be about twenty miles
long and six miles wide, and, in the language of the report to Sir
Walter,—
“very sandie and low towards the water’s side, but so ful of grapes,
as the very beating and surge of the sea overflowed them, of which we
found such plentie, as well there as in all places else, both on the
sand and on the greene soile on the hils as in the plaines, as well on
every little shrubbe, as also climing towards the tops of high cedars,
that I thinke in all the world the like abundance is not to be found;
and myselfe having seene those parts of Europe that most abound, find
such difference as were incredible to be written.”
The report continues:—
“This Island had many goodly Woodes full of Deere, Conies, Hares,
and Fowle, even in the middest of Summer, in incredible abondance.
The Woodes are not such as you finde in Bohemia, Moscovia, Hercynia,
barren and fruitles, but the highest and reddest Cedars of the world,
farre bettering the Cedars of the Azores, of the Indies, or Lybanus;
Pynes, Cypres, Sassaphras, the Lentisk, or the tree that beareth the
Masticke, the tree that beareth the rind of blacke Sinamon.”
On the third day a boat with three natives approached the island, and
friendly intercourse was at once established. On the next there came
several boats, and in one of them Granganimeo, the king’s brother,
“accompanied with fortie or fiftie men, very handsome and goodly
people, and in their behavior as mannerly and civill as any of Europe.”
When the English asked the name of the country, one of the savages,
who did not understand the question, replied, “Win-gan-da-coa,” which
meant, “You wear fine clothes.” The English on their part, mistaking
his meaning, reported that to be the name of the country.
The King was named Wingina, and he was then suffering from a wound
received in battle. After two or three days Granganimeo brought his
wife and daughter and two or three children to the ships.
“His wife was very well favoured, of meane stature, and very bashfull;
shee had on her backe a long cloake of leather, with the furre side
next to her body, and before her a piece of the same; about her
forehead shee hade a band of white corall, and so had her husband many
times; in her eares shee had bracelets of pearles hanging doune to
her middle, and these were of the bignes of good pease. The rest of
her women of the better sort had pendants of copper hanging in either
eare; he himself had upon his head a broad plate of golde or copper,
for being unpolished we knew not what mettal it should be, neither
would he by any meanes suffer us to take it off his head, but feeling
it, it would bow very easily. His apparell was as his wives, onely the
women wear their haire long on both sides, and the men but on one.
They are of colour yellowish, and their haire black for the most part,
and yet we saw children that had very fine auburne and chesnut-colored
haire.”
The phenomenon of auburn and chestnut-colored hair may be accounted for
by the fact, related by the natives, that some years before a ship,
manned by whites, had been wrecked on the coast; and that some of the
people had been saved, and had lived with them for several weeks before
leaving in their boats, in which, however, they were lost. It was the
descendants of these men, doubtless, who were found by the English.
After the natives had visited the ships several times, Captain Barlowe
with seven men went in a boat twenty miles to an island called Roanoke
(probably a corruption of the Indian name Ohanoak), at the north end of
which “was a village of nine houses built of cedar and fortified round
about with sharp trees to keep out their enemies, and the entrance
into it made like a turnpike, very artificially.” There they found the
wife of Granganimeo, who, with her attendants, in the absence of her
husband, entertained them “with all loue and kindness, and with as much
bounty (after their manner) as they could possibly devise.”
They did not attempt to explore the mainland, but returned to England,
arriving about the middle of September, and carrying with them two of
the natives, Manteo and Manchese. They were enthusiastic concerning
all they had seen, describing the soil as “the most plentiful, sweet,
fruitful, and wholesome of all the world,” and “the people most gentle,
loving, and faithful, void of all guile and treason, and such as live
after the manner of the Golden Age.”
The Queen, not less delighted than Ralegh, named the newly-discovered
country VIRGINIA, in commemoration of her maiden life, and conferred
upon Ralegh the honor of knighthood. He now had a new seal of his arms
cut, with the legend, _Propria insignia Walteri Ralegh, militis, Domini
et Gubernatoris Virginiæ_. He was soon honored also with a seat in
Parliament by his native shire of Devon, and rose to eminence in that
body.
[Illustration]
Upon the return of his expedition Ralegh began to fit out a colony
to be planted in Virginia. Everything was made ready by the next
spring, and on the 9th of April, 1585, he sent from Plymouth a fleet
of seven ships in command of his cousin, Sir Richard Grenville, “with
one hundred householders, and many things necessary to begin a new
state.” The colony itself was put in the immediate charge of Ralph
Lane, who was afterwards knighted by the King. He had seen considerable
service, and was on duty in Ireland when invited by Ralegh to take
command of the colony. The Queen ordered a substitute to be appointed
in his government of Kerry and Clanmorris, “in consideration of his
ready undertaking the voyage to Virginia for Sir Walter Ralegh at her
Majesty’s command.” His residence in Ireland and Ralegh’s interest
there account for a number of Irish names which appear among the
colonists. Captain Philip Amadas was associated with Lane as his
deputy, and among those who accompanied him were two who were men of
distinction. One, Thomas Cavendish, afterwards became celebrated as a
navigator by sailing round the world; and another, Thomas Hariot, was a
mathematician of great distinction, who materially advanced the science
of algebra, and was honored by Descartes, who imposed some of Hariot’s
work upon the French as his own.
On the voyage the conduct of Sir Richard Grenville gave great offence
to Lane and the leading men of the colony, and Lane became convinced
that Grenville desired his death. On the 26th of June they came to
anchor at Wocokon, now known as Ocracoke Inlet. On the 11th of July
Grenville crossed the southern portion of Pamlico Sound, and discovered
three Indian towns,—Pomeiok, Aquascogoc, and Secotan. At Aquascogoc a
silver cup was stolen from one of his men, and failing to recover it,
they “burned and spoiled their corn, all the people being fled.” This
act of harsh retribution made enemies of the inhabitants of this part
of the country, and was unfortunate in its consequences.
Grenville landed the colony at Roanoke Island, and leaving Lane in
charge of one hundred and seven men, he sailed for England August 25,
promising to return with supplies by the next Easter. Lane at once
erected a fort on the island, and then began to explore the coast and
rivers of the country. The exploration southward extended about eighty
miles, to the present county of Carteret; northward, about one hundred
and thirty miles, to the vicinity of Elizabeth River; northwest, about
the same distance, to a point just below the junction of the Meherrin
and Nottoway rivers; and westward, up the Roanoke River to the vicinity
of Halifax.
Lane was a man of decided ability and executive capacity. He informed
himself regarding the country and its inhabitants, and protected
his men from the many dangers which surrounded them. He soon became
convinced that a mistake had been made in attempting a settlement on
Roanoke Island, because of the dangerous coast and wretched harbor.
He learned on his voyage up the Chowan, from an Indian king named
Monatonon, that on going three days’ journey in a canoe up the river
and four days’ journey over land to the northeast, he would come to a
king’s country which lay upon the sea, whose place of greatest strength
was an island in a deep bay. This information evidently pointed to
Craney Island in Chesapeake Bay. Lane thereupon resolved, as soon as
the promised supply arrived from England, to send ships up the coast
to discover the bay, and to send men overland to establish posts, and
if he found the bay to be as described, to transfer the colony to its
shore.
The two natives who had been carried to England had returned with Lane.
Manteo was a firm friend to the English, while Manchese became their
implacable enemy. Granganimeo, the brother, and Ensenore, the father,
of Wingina, were also friendly, but both died within a few months after
the arrival of the colony, and the king, who had changed his name to
Pemisapan, did all in his power to destroy it. When Lane ascended the
Roanoke, he found that the tribes along its banks, with whom he had
previously entered into terms of friendship, had been informed by
Pemisapan that the English designed to kill them. They had retired
into the interior with their families and provisions, and Lane, whose
supplies were running short, found great difficulty in subsisting his
men.
The exploration of this river, called by the Indians Moratoc, was
deemed of the greatest importance, as the natives reported it as
flowing with a bold stream out of a rock upon the coast of the Western
Ocean, and running through a land rich in minerals. During the voyage
they were reduced to great straits for subsistence, but the men
insisted on going farther and feeding on the flesh of dogs, rather than
to give up the search. Finally they were attacked by the natives, and
being without food they returned from their search for the mines and
the South-Sea passage. The scarcity of provisions at Roanoke Island
had now become a matter of serious concern, as the time had passed
for Sir Richard Grenville to return with supplies, and Pemisapan was
endeavoring to starve them out. In order to get subsistence Lane was
forced to divide his men into three parties. One of these he sent to
the Island of Croatoan, and another to Hatorask. Learning from Skyco, a
son of King Monatonon, held as a hostage, that Pemisapan had informed
him of a plot to murder the English, Lane saved his men by striking the
first blow, and putting to death Pemisapan and seven or eight of his
chief men.
Within a few days afterwards Sir Francis Drake, with a fleet of
twenty-three sail, returning from sacking St. Domingo, Carthagina,
and St. Augustine, came in sight of the Island of Croatoan, and on
the 10th of June came to anchor near Roanoke Island. Drake acted in
the most generous manner towards the colonists. He proposed to carry
them back to England if they desired it, or to leave them sufficient
shipping and provisions to enable them to make further discovery.
Lane and his men, being desirous to stay, accepted the last offer,
promising when they had searched the coast for a better harbor to
return to England in the coming August. They had despaired of the
return of Sir Richard Grenville, and they believed that Ralegh had
been prevented from looking after them by the condition of public
affairs in England. Sir Francis at once placed one of his ships at the
disposal of Lane, and began to put provisions aboard. Before this was
accomplished a storm arose, which lasted three days and threatened
to destroy the whole fleet. To save themselves several of the ships
put to sea, and among them the “Francis,” selected for the use of the
colony, with the provisions aboard. After the storm had abated Drake
offered another ship of much greater burden, it being the only one he
could then spare; but it being too heavy for the harbor and not suited
for their purposes, Lane with the chief men determined to ask for a
passage to England for the colony, which was granted them by Drake, and
they arrived at Plymouth on the 27th of July, 1586, having lost but
four of their number. Thomas Hariot carried with him, on the return
of the colony, a carefully prepared description of the country,—its
inhabitants, productions, animals, birds, and fish,—and John White,
the artist of the expedition, carried illustrations in water-colors.
Specimens of the productions of the country were also carried by the
colonists; and of these two, though not previously unknown in Europe,
through the exertions of Ralegh were brought into general use, and have
long been of the greatest importance. One was the plant called by the
natives _uppowoc_, but named by the Spaniards tobacco; the other, the
root known as the potato, which was introduced into Ireland by being
planted on the estate of Ralegh. In Hariot’s description of the grain
called by the Indians _pagatour_, we easily recognize our Indian corn.
Soon after the departure of the colony a ship arrived with supplies
sent by Ralegh, with a direction to assure them of further aid. Finding
no one on the island, this vessel returned to England. Fifteen days
after its departure Sir Richard Grenville arrived with three ships well
provisioned, but finding the island desolate, and searching in vain for
the colony or any information concerning it, he also returned, leaving,
however, fifteen men with provisions for two years. This was done to
retain possession of the country, and in ignorance of the hostility
of the natives and of the purpose of Lane to abandon that locality as
a settlement. Though seemingly wise and proper, it proved to be the
source of further misfortune.
Sir Walter Ralegh, upon receiving the report of Lane, determined to
make no further effort to settle Roanoke Island, but at once began to
prepare for a settlement upon Chesapeake Bay. He granted a charter of
incorporation to thirty-two persons, nineteen of whom were merchants of
London who contributed their money, and thirteen, styled “the Governor
and Assistants of the city of Ralegh in Virginia,” who adventured
their persons in the enterprise. Of the nineteen styled merchants, ten
were afterwards subscribers to the Virginia Company of London which
settled Jamestown. Among them were Sir Thomas Smith, for years the
chief officer of that company, and one of the two Richard Hakluyts.
John White was selected as the governor, and with him were sent one
hundred and fifty persons, including seventeen women. They were carried
in three ships in charge of Simon Ferdinando, with directions to
visit Roanoke Island and take away the men left there by Sir Richard
Grenville, and then to steer for Chesapeake Bay. On July 22, 1587, they
arrived at Hatorask, and White, taking with him forty of his best men,
started in the pinnace to Roanoke Island.
Ferdinando, who was a Spaniard by birth, was either acting in the
interest of Spain or was angered by his difficulties with White. He
had purposely separated from one of the ships during the voyage, and
instead of carrying the colony to Chesapeake Bay, as he had agreed,
he no sooner saw White and his men aboard the pinnace for Roanoke
Island, than he directed the sailors to bring none of the men back,
on the pretext that the summer was too far spent to be looking for
another place. The colony was thus forced to remain upon the island.
They found evidence of the massacre by the savages of the men left
by Grenville, and they soon experienced the hostility of the Indians
toward themselves.
Manteo, who had gone to England with Lane, returned with White,
and was of the greatest service to the colony. By the direction of
Ralegh he “was christened in Roanoke, and called lord thereof, and of
Dasamonguepeuk, in reward of his faithful service.” On the 18th of
August Eleanor, daughter of the governor and wife of Ananias Dare one
of the assistants, gave birth to a daughter, “and because this child
was the first Christian born in Virginia, she was named Virginia.”
The little vessel, from which Ferdinando had parted company, arrived
safely with the rest of the colony aboard in a few days, and the men
who landed on the island, all told, were one hundred and twenty souls.
When the time came for the ships to return to England it was determined
by the unanimous voice of the colony to send White back to represent
their condition and to obtain relief. He at first refused to go, but at
last yielded to their solicitation, and on the 5th of November arrived
in England.
When White landed he found the kingdom alarmed by the threatened
Spanish invasion. Ralegh, Grenville, and Lane were all members of the
council of war, and were bending every energy toward the protection
of England from the Spanish Armada. Ralegh’s genius shone forth
conspicuously in this crisis, and his policy of defending England on
the water by a well-equipped fleet was not only adopted, but has been
steadily pursued since, and has resulted in her becoming the great
naval power of the world.
Ralegh did not forget his colony, however, and by the spring he had
fitted out for its relief a small fleet, which he placed under the
command of Sir Richard Grenville. Before it sailed every ship was
impressed by the Government, and Sir Richard was required to attend
Sir Walter, who was training troops in Cornwall. Governor White, with
Ralegh’s aid, succeeded in sailing for Virginia with two vessels,
April 22, 1588, but encountering some Spanish ships and being worsted
in a sea-fight, he was forced to return to England, and the voyage
was abandoned for the time. White was not able to renew his effort
to relieve the colony during the year 1589, but during the next
year, finding that three ships ready to sail for the West Indies at
the charges of John Wattes, a London merchant, had been detained by
the order prohibiting any vessel from leaving England, he applied
to Ralegh to obtain permission for them to sail, on condition that
they should take him and some others with supplies to Roanoke Island.
After obtaining permission to sail on this condition, the owner and
commanders of the ships refused to take any one aboard except White;
and as they were in the act of sailing, and White had no time to lodge
complaint against them, he went aboard, determined alone to prosecute
his search. On the 15th of August they came to anchor at Hatorask.
When White left the colony they had determined to remove fifty miles
into the interior, and it had been agreed that they should carve on
the trees or posts of the doors the name of the place where they were
seated, and if they were in distress a cross was to be carved above
the name. White found no one on the island, but the houses he had
left had been taken down and a fort erected, which had been so long
deserted that grass was growing in it. The bark had been cut from one
of the largest trees near the entrance, and five feet from the ground,
in fair capital letters, was cut the word CROATOAN, without any sign
of distress. Further search developed the fact that five chests,
buried near the fort, had been dug up and their contents destroyed.
White recognized among the fragments of the articles some of his own
books, maps, and pictures. He concluded that the colony had removed
to Croatoan, the island from which Manteo came, whose inhabitants
had been friendly to the English. White at once begged the captain
of the ship to carry him to Croatoan, which the captain promised to
do; but a violent storm preventing, he finally determined to sail for
England, where they arrived on the 24th of October. This was White’s
fifth and last voyage, as he states in his letter to Hakluyt in 1593.
His disappointment produced despondency, and he abandoned all hope of
relieving the colony, with whom he had left his daughter and grandchild.
Ralegh had already spent forty thousand pounds in his several efforts
to colonize Virginia, and he found himself unable to follow up his
design from his own purse alone. He thereupon leased his patent to a
company of merchants, hoping thus to achieve his object. But in this
he was disappointed. He did not abandon all hope of final success,
however, but continued to send out ships to look for his lost colony.
In 1602 he made his fifth effort to afford them help by sending Captain
Samuel Mace, a mariner of experience, with instructions to search for
them. Mace returned without executing his orders, and Ralegh wrote to
Sir Robert Cecil on the 21st August that he would send Mace back, and
expressed his faith in the colonization of Virginia in these words,
“I shall yet live to see it an Englishe nation.” He lived, indeed, to
see his prediction verified, but not until he was immured in the Tower
of London. During the last years of Elizabeth’s reign he continually
pressed the Secretary and Privy Council for facilities to resume his
schemes, but without success; and he finally abandoned all hope of
finding the colony left at Roanoke Island.
What became of this colony was long a question of anxious inquiry, only
to be solved by the information obtained from the Indians after the
English settled at Jamestown. It was then ascertained that they had
intermixed with the natives, and, after living with them till about
the time of the arrival of the colony at Jamestown, had been cruelly
massacred at the instigation of Powhatan, acting under the persuasions
of his priests.[215] Only seven of them—four men, two boys, and a
young maid—had been preserved from slaughter by a friendly chief. From
these was descended a tribe of Indians found in the vicinity of Roanoke
Island in the beginning of the eighteenth century, and known as the
Hatteras Indians. They had gray eyes, which were found among no other
tribes, and claimed to have white people as their ancestors.
The failure of Ralegh’s efforts to colonize Virginia may be ascribed
to the inherent difficulties of the enterprise, increased by the
inexperience of those sent out; to the unfortunate selection of the
place of settlement; and, above all, to the war with Spain, which
prevented Ralegh from taking proper care of the infant colony until it
could become self-sustaining.
But although the colonies he sent to Virginia perished, to Ralegh must
be awarded the honor of securing the possession of North America to the
English. It was through his enterprise that the advantages of its soil
and climate were made known in England, and that the Chesapeake Bay was
fixed upon as the proper place of settlement; and it was his genius
that created the spirit of colonization which led to the successful
settlement upon that bay.
Ralegh incurred the displeasure of the Queen in 1592 by his marriage
with Elizabeth Throgmorton, her beautiful maid of honor. He was more
than compensated, however, by the acquisition of a faithful and loving
wife, who was in every way worthy of him. The jealous Queen sent them
both to the Tower. After a few months’ imprisonment Sir Walter was
released, that he might superintend the division of the rich spoil
taken in the Spanish ship “Madre de Dios,” on her return from the West
Indies, by a privateering fleet which he had sent out. The Queen was
personally interested in this enterprise, and got the lion’s share of
the profits. Afterward he was permitted to retire with his wife to his
estate, and there he matured his plans for a voyage to Guiana, which he
had been long considering. His colony had found no mines in Virginia,
and he longed to make England the rival of Spain in mineral wealth.
Spanish travellers had reported that the natives told of a city of gold
called “El Dorado,” which was situated in the unexplored region of the
northeastern portion of South America, known as the “Empire of Guiana.”
Between the years 1530 and 1560 a number of expeditions had been sent
by the Spaniards to this unknown land. They had proved unsuccessful,
and been attended with great loss of life and money. Ralegh was seized
with a desire to visit this region and secure its riches. In 1594
he sent out Jacob Whiddon, with instructions to examine the coast
contiguous to the River Orinoco, and to explore that river and its
tributaries. Whiddon met at the Island of Trinidad with Antonio de
Berreo, the Spanish governor, who was himself planning an exploration
of the region along the Orinoco, and who opposed every obstacle to
the success of Whiddon’s mission. Ralegh’s agent returned to England
towards the close of the year with but little trustworthy information.
Sir Walter continued his preparations, however, and on February 9,
1595, with a squadron of five ships, he sailed from Plymouth for
Trinidad, having aboard one hundred officers, soldiers, and gentlemen
adventurers. Before the end of March he arrived at Trinidad. He
captured the town of St. Joseph, and took Berreo prisoner. Treating his
captive with kindness, Ralegh soon learned from him what he knew of
Guiana. He was informed by Berreo that the empire of Guiana had more
gold than Peru; that the imperial city called by the Spaniards “El
Dorado” was called by the Indians “Manoa,” and was situated on a lake
of salt water two hundred leagues long, and that it was the largest
and richest city in the world. Berreo showed Sir Walter a copy of a
narrative by Juan Martinez of his journey to Manoa, which had induced
Berreo to send a special messenger to Spain to get up an expedition for
the conquest of El Dorado, or, as it was then called, “Laguna de la
Gran Manoa.”
This narrative appeared to confirm the marvellous tales concerning El
Dorado which had so long obtained credence. Ralegh did not rely on
Berreo, however, but sought out the oldest among the Indians on the
island, and inquired of them concerning the country, its streams and
inhabitants. He then started upon his perilous voyage up the Orinoco,
with four boats and provisions for a month. He entered by the most
northern of the divisions through which that remarkable river flows
into the sea, and after struggling against its rapid, various, and
dangerous currents for more than a month, and reaching the mouth of the
Caroni, and ascending that stream some forty miles to the vicinity of
its falls, he was forced by the rising of the river to return,—finding
that his farther progress was not only prevented thereby, but his
return made dangerous. He supposed he had gone four hundred miles by
the windings of the river, and he was still more than two hundred
miles from the country of which Manoa was the capital, according to
the reckoning of Berreo. Ralegh did not find the rich deposits of gold
he had hoped for, but saw, as he supposed, many indications of that
metal, and secured specimens of ores and precious stones. He found that
the Spaniards had previously traversed the country contiguous to the
river, and been cruel in their treatment of the natives. He informed
them that his Queen, whose portrait he showed them, was the enemy of
the Spaniards, and that he came to deliver them from their tyranny.
He soon made them his fast friends by his kindness, and an old chief,
Topiawari, promised to unite the several tribes along the river in a
league against the Spaniards by the time Sir Walter should return. This
chief gave his son to Ralegh as a pledge of his fidelity, and received
in return two Englishmen, who were instructed to learn what they could
of the country, and, if possible, to go to the city of Manoa.
Ralegh arrived in England in the latter part of the summer of 1595,
after laying under contribution several Spanish settlements on the way.
He published a glowing account of his voyage, in which he related not
only the wonderful things he had seen, but the more wonderful things
which had been told him by the Spaniards and natives. He was firmly
persuaded of the existence of El Dorado, and also that there lived in
Guiana the Amazons, a race of women who allowed no man to remain among
them; and the Ewaipanoma, a tribe who had their eyes in their shoulders
and their mouths in the middle of their breasts. The publication was
eagerly read, and increased his already great reputation. But it was
severely criticised at the time, as it has been since by Hume and other
historians. During the present century two distinguished men—Humboldt
and Schomburgk—have explored the Orinoco and the countries drained by
it and its almost innumerable tributaries. They found that what Ralegh
stated of the country, as coming under his own observation, was true,
while many of the tales told him by others were the merest fiction.
In January, 1596, Ralegh sent Captain Laurence Keymis, a companion
of his first voyage, with two ships, to renew the exploration of the
Orinoco, with a view to planting a colony. He returned in June, and
his report confirmed Ralegh in his belief in the mineral wealth of the
country. He brought intelligence, however, of a Spanish settlement made
by Berreo near the mouth of the Caroni, with the men sent out to him
from Spain.
When Keymis landed in England he found that Ralegh had been partially
restored to the favor of the Queen, and united with Essex and Howard
in command of the force sent to attack Cadiz. The operations before
that city were directed by Ralegh’s genius, and he led the van of the
naval attack which resulted in the destruction of the Spanish fleet
and the capture of the city. From the effects of this blow Spain never
recovered, and the 21st of June, 1596, the day of the battle, marks the
date of her decline as one of the great powers. During the next year he
struck her another blow by the capture of Fayal.
In the year 1596 Ralegh despatched one of the smaller ships which had
fought at Cadiz, to Guiana, under the command of Captain Leonard Berry,
but with no important results. In 1598 he attempted to get together
a fleet of thirteen ships, to be commanded by Sir John Gilbert, with
which to convey a colony to the fertile valley of the Orinoco, but from
some cause, not known, he failed.
His frequent failures did not dampen his ardor in the cause of
colonization, but he found that it “required a prince’s purse to
have it thoroughly followed out,” and he therefore endeavored to
interest the Ministry in his schemes. But the end of the great Queen
was approaching, and instead of aiming at the enlargement of her
kingdom, her ministers were scheming for their own advancement with her
successor.
The accession of James to the throne of England changed the fortunes of
Ralegh. When he met the King he found the royal mind already prejudiced
against him. He was displaced from the Captaincy of the Guard, and
shortly afterwards was arrested on a charge of treason, in plotting
with the Count of Arenburg, an ambassador of the Archduke Albert, to
place Lady Arabella Stuart upon the throne, and to obtain aid from the
King of Spain for the purpose. The mockery of a trial which followed
drew from one of his judges the statement, which succeeding ages have
pronounced true, that “never before was English justice so injured or
so degraded.” The brutal conduct of Sir Edward Coke who prosecuted,
and of Chief-Justice Popham who presided, at the trial, and denied the
request of Ralegh to be confronted with the witnesses against him, has
consigned their memory to lasting infamy. That Ralegh, after spending
his life in war with Spain, should plot with her to overthrow his King
and put another in his place is not credible, and that the Government
that prosecuted him did not believe the charge is conclusively shown by
the fact, that the Count of Arenburg retained the favor of King James,
and further, that some of the men prominent in the prosecution were at
the time in the paid service of Spain.
James did not proceed to execute the sentence of death which his
corrupt court had pronounced against Ralegh, but kept him a prisoner in
the Tower for thirteen years. In prison he devoted himself to the study
of chemistry and to literary composition; and the great wrong done in
depriving him of his liberty resulted in that literary treasure, the
_History of the World_.
As prison life became more and more irksome to Ralegh, he attempted to
relieve himself from it by obtaining employment in Virginia or Guiana,
promising the King rich returns if he would but permit him to visit
either country. Finally, by bribing those who had the ear of the King,
he was released January 30, 1616, to prepare for a voyage to Guiana. He
had been assured by Keymis that a rich mine existed near the mouth of
the Caroni, and he pledged himself to find it or else to bear all the
expenses of the expedition. Keymis was to go along with him, and also a
sufficient force “to defend him against the Spaniards inhabiting upon
the Orenocke, if they offered to assaile him,—not that it is meant
to offend the Spaniards there, or to beginne any quarrell with them,
except themselves shall beginne the warre.” It was said in London at
the time that Ralegh wanted to obtain a pardon under the Great Seal,
but it required a further expenditure of money which he needed in his
expedition, and he was advised by Bacon that the King’s commission
under which he sailed was equivalent to a pardon. The release of Ralegh
enabled him to see Pocahontas, who was in England in 1616, and we can
well conceive with what interest he beheld her who had so much aided in
realizing his hope of seeing Virginia an English nation.
King James had fallen under the influence of Count Gondomar, the
Spanish ambassador, to whom Ralegh was particularly obnoxious on
account of his lifelong enmity to Spain. The Count attempted to prevent
the sailing of the expedition, but failing in that, he obtained from
the King Ralegh’s plans, and at once transmitted them to Madrid, where
steps were immediately taken to thwart them. In June, 1617, Ralegh
sailed with eleven vessels from Plymouth, having with him his son,
young Walter Ralegh, Captain Keymis, and four hundred and thirty-one
men. He arrived at Trinidad in December, suffering from the effects
of a violent fever. He was too feeble to attempt the ascent of the
Orinoco, but sent forward his son and Keymis. When they approached
St. Thomas, settled since his first voyage, they were attacked by the
Spaniards. The conflict ended in the taking of the town, but at the
cost of young Walter Ralegh’s life. Keymis continued the search for
the mine, and with a part of his men reached the vicinity of the place
at which he had located it on his previous voyage. The hostility of
the Spaniards reduced his numbers so that he felt forced to return to
St. Thomas for reinforcements. After returning to that point he became
despondent, and finally burnt the town and returned to Trinidad, taking
along with him documents found at St. Thomas, which showed that the
plans of Ralegh, communicated to the King, had been betrayed to the
Court of Madrid. When Keymis met Ralegh and saw how he was affected by
the failure of the expedition and the loss of his son, and heard his
reproaches, he was seized with remorse at the thought that upon him
rested the responsibility for the failure, and committed suicide.
Ralegh, utterly dispirited and broken-hearted, now turned his face
homeward, and arrived at Plymouth early in July, 1618. He was arrested
upon his arrival, by order of the King, on the charge of breaking the
peace with Spain. No trial was had upon this charge, which could not
have been sustained; but as the King of Spain demanded that he should
be put to death James sought for a legal cover for compliance, and upon
the advice of Bacon determined to issue a warrant for his execution
upon the conviction of 1603. Ralegh was brought before the Court of
King’s Bench on the 28th of October, and asked what he had to allege
in further stay of execution. He pleaded his commission from the King,
giving him command of the expedition to Guiana, as working a pardon,
but was told that “Treason must be pardoned by express words, not
by implication.” Nothing remained but to execute the death-warrant,
already drawn by Bacon and signed by the King. He was beheaded on the
next day, meeting death with the greatest fortitude. His execution
excited the horror and indignation of the Protestant world, and King
James was at once arraigned at the bar of public opinion. He called to
his defence the genius of his Lord Chancellor, and Bacon attempted to
justify him by publishing a disgraceful attack upon Ralegh’s fame. But
the effort was in vain. The world acquitted Ralegh of the charges which
had been made the pretext of his judicial murder, and adjudged King
James to be the real criminal.
CRITICAL ESSAY ON THE SOURCES OF INFORMATION.
THE life of Sir Walter Ralegh, reprehensible in some of its parts, but
admirable in most and brilliant in all, has been variously portrayed.
Lord Bacon in 1618 published in quarto _A Declaration of the Demeanor
and Carrige of Sir Walter Ralegh, as well in his Voyage as in and since
his Return_, etc., intending it as a justification of the conduct of
King James in beheading him; but it grossly misrepresented him. He
began with the statement that “Kings are not bound to give account of
their actions to any but God alone;” but the whole apology is framed
upon the theory that King James was forced by the popular voice to give
an account of this base action. It appears from a letter of Bacon to
the Marquis of Buckingham, dated Nov. 22, 1618,[216] that the King made
very material additions to the manuscript after Bacon had prepared it.
[Illustration]
The first Life of Ralegh was published with his works not long after
his death. The name of the author is not given, and it is not a full
narrative, but was written during his life or soon after his death.
The next publication was under the style of _The Life of the Valiant
and Learned Sir Walter Ralegh, Knight, with his Tryal at Winchester_,
London: printed by J. D. for Benj. Shirley and Richard Tonsin, 1677.
This has sometimes been attributed to James Shirley, the dramatist, who
was a contemporary of Ralegh. The narrative, however, was little more
than what was already known from books familiar to the public.
In 1701 the Rev. John Prince, a fellow-Devonian, published in his
_Worthies of Devon_ a short memoir of Ralegh, which was the best
account of its subject that had then appeared. He was able to throw
light upon some of the obscurer portions of his life by his local
knowledge, and his book is still worthy of perusal.
No other Life of Ralegh of value appeared until 1733, when William
Oldys published his work, which showed great industry in collecting
and judgment in arranging his material. For near a century it was
the standard _Life of Ralegh_, and was the source from which writers
derived their materials. Notwithstanding the criticism of Gibbon, that
“it is a servile panegyric or flat apology,” this work is of great
value. It contains all that was accessible, when it was published, from
printed records, and much information derived from the descendants of
Ralegh and from his contemporaries.[217]
Dr. Thomas Birch published three several Lives of Ralegh,[218]—the
first in 1734, in the _General Dictionary, Historical and Critical_.
This author corresponded with the descendants of Ralegh, and collected
various anecdotes of him, but he made no additions of real value to the
work of Oldys.
The next work worthy of mention was by Arthur Cayley in 1805, although
a dozen Lives perhaps appeared between Birch’s and this. Cayley made
valuable additions to the knowledge concerning Ralegh which Oldys had
gathered. He brought to light several new and valuable documents, which
threw additional light upon his subject.[219]
In 1830 Mrs. A. T. Thompson published a _Life of Ralegh_ in London,
which was republished in Philadelphia in 1846, containing fifteen
original letters then first printed from the collection in the
State-Paper Office, throwing light on the share he took in the
political transactions of his times. It was of but little additional
value so far as its other materials were concerned.
In 1833 Patrick Fraser Tytler published a _Life of Ralegh_, “with a
Vindication of his Character from the Attacks of Hume[220] and other
writers.” This writer added several original documents to the material
previously used, but his publication is more justly entitled to the
criticism of Gibbon on the work of Oldys than was that book. He first
carefully traced out the conspiracy which brought Ralegh to the
scaffold.
In 1837 there appeared in Lardner’s _Cabinet of Biography_, among the
Lives of the British Admirals, an excellent life of Ralegh by Robert
Southey, the poet. The author’s only addition to the knowledge afforded
by previous writers was in reference to the Guiana expeditions, the
additional information being drawn from Spanish sources.
In 1847 the Hakluyt Society published Ralegh’s accounts of his voyages
to Guiana, with notes and a biographical memoir by Sir Robert H.
Schomburgk. This memoir is an admirable summary of what was then known
of Ralegh, and the publication is a complete vindication of Ralegh’s
statements and conduct in reference to Guiana. The notes of the author
are of the greatest value. He was a British Commissioner to survey the
boundaries of Guiana in 1841, and traversed the country visited by
Ralegh and those sent out by him. He also had the benefit of Humboldt’s
previous exploration of the country. This writer published for the
first time two valuable manuscripts in the British Museum, both from
the pen of Ralegh. One was written about the year 1596, and entitled
“Of the Voyage for Guiana,” and the other was the journal of his last
voyage to that country.
In 1868 there was published in London the most valuable of all the
biographies of Ralegh. It was written by Edward Edwards, and is
“based on contemporary documents preserved in the Rolls House, the
Privy Council Office, Hatfield House, the British Museum, and other
manuscript repositories, British and foreign, together with his
letters now first collected.” The author also had the advantage of the
correspondence of the French ambassador at London during the latter
part of Ralegh’s life. He has cleared up some of the obscure parts
of Ralegh’s career, and has, not only by the very full collection of
his letters, but by the admirable treatment of his subject, rendered
invaluable service to his memory.[221]
Another Life of Ralegh, published in the same year (1868) by St. John,
is also the embodiment of the latest information, and is better adapted
to the general reader than that of Edwards, and elucidates some points
more fully.
The voyage of Amadas and Barlow to Roanoke Island in 1584 was related
by the latter in a Report addressed to Sir Walter Ralegh. The voyage
of Sir Richard Grenville in 1585, conveying Ralph Lane and the colony
under his command, was related by one of the persons who accompanied
Grenville, and the account of what happened after their arrival was
written by one of the colonists, probably Lane himself.[222] An account
of the country, its inhabitants and productions, was written by Thomas
Hariot (_b._ 1560; _d._ 1621), one of the colony.[223] There are also
accounts of the voyages of John White to Virginia written by himself.
These several publications are found together in Hakluyt, and are of
the highest authority. They have been republished by Francis L. Hawks,
D.D., LL.D., with valuable notes, in the first volume of his _History
of North Carolina_, published in 1857. Dr. Hawks was a native of North
Carolina, and personally familiar with its coast, and thus enabled
to fix the localities mentioned in the early voyages. His book is
accompanied with valuable maps. He defends Lane with much ability from
the attacks of Bancroft and others.[224]
The letters of Ralph Lane constitute a very valuable addition to the
history of Lane’s colony, and show that the disputes between Lane and
Grenville had in all probability much to do with Lane’s abandonment of
the enterprise.
[Illustration: WHITE’S OLD VIRGINIA (HARIOT).]
[Illustration: PART OF DE LAET’S MAP, 1630.]
The voyages to Guiana are related by Ralegh himself.[225] The journal
of the second voyage is given by Schomburgk from the original
manuscript in the British Museum. The collections of the works of
Ralegh show his several other writings concerning Guiana, among
which are an “Apology for the Voyage to Guiana,” written in 1618, on
his way from Plymouth to London as a prisoner; to gain time for the
preparation of which he feigned sickness at Salisbury. Expecting to be
put to death, he was determined before he died fully and elaborately
to justify to the world his last expedition, which had been grossly
misrepresented. It was not published till 1650.
In Force’s _Historical Tracts_, vol. iii., there is published a letter,
written Nov. 17, 1617, “from the River Aliana, on the coast of Guiana,”
by a gentleman of the fleet, who signs his initials “R. M.” It is
entitled _Newes of Sir Walter Rawleigh_, and gives the orders he issued
to the commanders of his fleet, and some account of the incidents of
the expedition.[226]
In Sir Walter Ralegh’s _History of the World_ he often illustrates his
subject by the incidents of his own life, and thus we have in the book
much of an autobiography.
[Illustration]
* * * * *
NOTE.—At the charge of an American subscription a Ralegh window has
been placed in St. Margaret’s Church, Westminster, London; and a
sermon, _Sir Walter Raleigh and America_, was preached by the Rev.
Canon Farrar, at the unveiling, May 14, 1882.