Walter Raleigh: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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==New World==

[[File:Sir Walter Raleigh by Simon van de Passe (1617).jpg|thumb|Engraved portrait of Raleigh]]

On March 25, 1584, Queen Elizabeth granted Raleigh [[Royal charter|a royal charter]] authorising him to explore, colonise and rule any "remote, heathen and barbarous lands, countries and territories, not actually possessed of any Christian Prince or inhabited by Christian People", in return for one-fifth of all the gold and silver that might be mined there.<ref name=yale.edu/> This charter specified that Raleigh had seven years in which to establish a settlement, or else lose his right to do so. Raleigh and Elizabeth intended that the venture should provide riches from the New World and a base from which to send [[privateer]]s on raids against the treasure fleets of [[Spain]]. The charter was originally given to [[Humphrey Gilbert|Sir Humphrey Gilbert]] who pitched the idea to [[Elizabeth I|Queen Elizabeth I]] and died at sea while attempting to accomplish it.

On April 27, 1584, the [[Philip Amadas]] and [[Arthur Barlowe]] expedition set sail from England on an exploratory mission to determine what resources were available in North America.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Evans |first=Phillip |title=Amadas and Barlowe Expedition |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/amadas-and-barlowe-expedition}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Roanoke colony timeline |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/timeline/Roanoke_Colony/}}</ref>

In 1585, he sent a militarized group to North America in order to set up a fort to be used to raid Spanish ships and become the first English colony in North America. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Walter Raleigh (c.1552 - 1618) |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/raleigh_walter.shtml |website=BBC |quote="In 1585, he sponsored the first English colony in America on Roanoke Island (now North Carolina)."}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> The voyage was led by [[Richard Grenville|Sir Richard Grenville]] while the colony was governed by [[Ralph Lane]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Roanoke Island |url=https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/roanoke-island/}}</ref>

InOn July 22, 1587, Raleigh attempted a second expedition, again establishing a settlement on Roanoke Island.<ref name=":2" /> This time, [[List of colonists at Roanoke|a more diverse group of settlers]] was sent, including some entire families,<ref name=si.edu/> under the governance of [[John White (colonist and artist)|John White]].{{sfn|Hakluyt|1965|p=522}} After a short while in America, White returned to England to obtain more supplies for the colony, planning to return in a year. Unfortunately for the colonists at Roanoke, one year became three. The first delay came when Queen Elizabeth I ordered all vessels to remain at port for potential use against the [[Spanish Armada]]. After England's 1588 victory over the Spanish Armada, the ships were given permission to sail.{{sfn|Quinn|1985|pp=125–126}}

The second delay came after White's small fleet set sail for Roanoke and his crew insisted on sailing first towards [[Cuba]] in hopes of capturing treasure-laden Spanish merchant ships. Enormous riches described by their pilot, an experienced [[Portugal|Portuguese]] navigator hired by Raleigh, outweighed White's objections to the delay.{{sfn|Quinn|1985|pp=125–126}}