Sir Walter Raleigh, a distinguished statesman, scholar, and warrior, in
the reigns of Elizabeth and James I., was born in 1552, at Budleigh in
Devonshire, and educated at Oriel College, Oxford. At the age of
seventeen he made one of a troop of an hundred gentlemen volunteers whom
Queen Elizabeth permitted to go to France, under the command of Henry
Champernon, for the service of the Protestant princes. He next served in
the Netherlands; and, on his return from the Continent, his
half-brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, having obtained a grant of lands in
North America, he engaged with a considerable number of gentlemen to go
out to Newfoundland: but the expedition proving unsuccessful, Sir Walter
returned to England, after being exposed to several dangers, and
proceeded thence to Ireland, where he made his bravery so conspicuous in
quelling the insurgents, that he was received at court with considerable
favor, and obtained permission and supplies to prosecute his discoveries
in America, which ended in his settling a colony in that country,
called, in honor of his maiden sovereign, Virginia; and he is said to
have first introduced tobacco and potatoes into Europe. In the mean time
the Queen conferred on him the distinction of knighthood, and rewarded
him by several lucrative grants, including a large share of the
forfeited Irish estates. When his country’s safety was threatened by the
famous Spanish Armada, he raised and disciplined the militia of
Cornwall; and afterwards, by joining the fleet with a squadron of ships
belonging to gentlemen volunteers, assisted in obtaining the signal
victory which it pleased Providence to give to the English over the
Spaniards on that occasion. He was now made gentleman of the privy
chamber; but shortly after fell into disgrace, and was confined for some
months, partly on account of a tract which he had published, entitled
“the School for Atheists,” which was unfairly construed by his enemies
into a vindication of atheistical principles; and partly for a
clandestine attachment to one of the Queen’s maids of honor, the
daughter of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton; which lady, however, he
afterwards honorably married. During his seclusion he planned the
discovery of the extensive country of Guiana, in South America, in which
he took an active part himself, as soon as he was set at liberty: but
the season being unfavorable, he returned to England, and was soon after
appointed to a command in the important expedition to Cadiz, of which
the success was in a great measure owing to Sir Walter’s valor and
prudence. This, joined to several other important services, restored him
completely to the favor of Elizabeth, towards the end of her reign. Her
successor, James, prejudiced against him by Robert Cecil, disapproving
of his martial spirit, and jealous of his abilities, availed himself of
a court conspiracy against this great man, charging him with
participating in an attempt to place upon the throne Arabella Stuart,
and of carrying on a secret correspondence with the King of Spain. By
the base subservience of the jury, he was brought in guilty of high
treason, even to the surprise of the Attorney-General Coke himself, who
declared that he had only charged him with misprision of treason.
Raleigh was reprieved, and committed to the Tower, where his wife, at
her earnest solicitation, was allowed to reside with him, and where his
youngest son was born. Twelve years was Sir Walter detained a prisoner
in the Tower; during which time, besides various minor compositions, he
wrote his “History of the World;” a work distinguished for the richness
of its information, the judiciousness of its reflections, and the vigor
of its style. At length his release was obtained, in 1616, by the
advance of a large sum of money to the new favorite, Villiers; and, to
retrieve his broken fortunes, he planned another expedition to America.
He obtained a patent under the great seal for making a settlement in
Guiana; but, in order to retain a power over him, the king did not grant
him a pardon for the sentence passed upon him for his alleged treason.
Having reached the Orinoco, he dispatched a portion of his force to
attack the new Spanish settlement of St. Thomas, which was captured; but
he had to lament the death of his eldest son, who fell on that occasion.
The expected plunder proved of little value: and Sir Walter, having in
vain tried to induce his captains to attack other Spanish settlements,
arrived at Plymouth in July, 1618. Being brought before the court of
King’s Bench, his plea of an implied pardon by his subsequent command,
was overruled; and the doom of death being pronounced against him, it
was carried into execution the following day, October 28, 1819, in Old
Palace Yard. His behavior at the scaffold was calm, and, after
addressing the people at some length in his own justification, he
received the stroke of death with perfect composure; remarking to the
sheriff, with a smile, as he felt the edge of the axe, “This is a sharp
medicine, but it is a physician that will cure all diseases.”