Sir Walter Raleigh (1554-1618)

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> The Passionate Man's Pilgrimage

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Sir Walter Raleigh (1554-1618) was born in Devonshire, England. His family were well connected, and he was half brother to Sir Humphrey and Sir John Gilbert. Although I have spelled his name 'Raleigh'; as that is the way most people know it now, he never actually used that spelling, and is thought to more typically have spelled it 'Ralegh', although he is known to have spelled it in many ways, curiously 'Raleigh' not being one of them.

Raleigh was a protestant, and his father was almost killed by the Catholic Queen Mary; only escaping by hiding in a church tower. Upon the ascension of the protestant Queen Elizabeth I, things greatly improved for the family, and Raleigh became Captain of the Queens Guard. For his part in foiling the 'Babington' conspiracy, aimed at replacing Queen Elizabeth with Catholic Queen Mary, he was awarded a 42,000 acre estate in Ireland.

Raleigh was also involved in fighting the Spanish Armada, and donated the ship the Ark Royal in exchange for an iou for £5000 (an enormous sum of money for the times). Trouble however, did follow him, and after an affair with one of the Queens maids, she had him packed off to the Tower of London to show her displeasure. It was only after one of his armada ships returned with treasure that she had him released.

In 1603, unfortunately for Raleigh, Queen Elizabeth the First died, and the new King, James, had him framed as a member of a plot against the throne and sentenced to life imprisonment. Whilst in the Tower Raleigh wrote "History of the World", which was first published in 1614 in five volumes (but only reached as far as the second Macedonian War in 130 BC), after which he was briefly released; but then re-arrested, and finally sentenced to be beheaded. After which, his head was embalmed and presented to his wife. She apparently kept it with her at all times until she died 29 years later at the age of 82.