Sir Walters Raleigh Essay

From 1554 to 1618: Sir Walter - An Outstanding Historical Figure

From 1554 to 1618, Sir Walter, one of the greatest Englishmen in history, flourished. He has undoubtedly been regarded as a dynamic and outstanding historical character. Sir Walters was regarded as a man of many talents because he was heavily involved in a number of different professions. He worked in the military, was a poet, a writer, a courtier, an explorer, and a British agent, among other occupations. (Wallace, 15).

The Popularization of Tobacco in England

It is important to emphasize that Sir Walters is credited with popularizing tobacco in England. Like most average English child of his days, he was born into a Protestant family in the town of Devon. It must be pointed out that little was known about his early life. However, records show that he spent some portion of his life in Ireland and that he had also been involved in fighting against rebellious and also participated in the siege of the Smerwick. He soon after became a landlord in Ireland and was in the good books of Queen Elizabeth hence he was recognized for his valor and made a night in 1585. There is need to state that he was instrumental to the colonization of North America, and for his action, he was granted a royal patent and permit to explore that the coast of Virginia (Wallace, 17).

Trials and Tribulations

Sir Walters also had his down times a good example of was his marriage to one of the queen’s aid without the queen’s permission this resulted in his banishment and imprisonment in the towers of London, and after his release, he went back to his personal estate of Dorset. In 1594 Sir Walters was informed of the presence of the city of gold located in South American. Inspired by this information he took a voyage to find the city of gold. However, he returned with an exaggerated account of the city of gold in his book which he titled Eldorado (Wallace, 20). It must be clearly noted that after the death of the queen he was arrested and sent to the towers for the second time for an alleged involvement in a plot to eliminate King James. However, in 1616 he decided to carry out another expedition to update his book Eldorado. He on his way his ship was ransacked by Spanish troop, and on his return, he was arrested and executed in 1618. There is need to point out that as intriguing as this character might seem he could be considered as a primary figure of the Queen Elizabeth era and was also considered as one of the 100 greatest Britons in 2002.

Who Was He?

There is need to clearly state that Sir Walters was indeed a multifaceted man and the answered to the question of who he was cannot be pointed out in a single word or phrase. However let’s start by pointing out that he was a soldier, he fought for the British army recorded several victories and claimed huge lands for the Queen (Trevelyan, 40). He was an explorer he traveled thousands of miles overseas in search of treasure, and he made a lot of discoveries in the process. He was an administrator, Sir Walters was primarily considered as an administrator par excellence, and in the process of administering the queen’s directed offices, he accomplished great height based on his performance in his position he was a recipient of several awards. He was a writer; Sir Walter clearly documented the results of his expedition to South America in his book he titled Eldorado. He was a confidant a noble and a right-hand man of the Queen, and for his excellence, he was considered the favorite of the Queen (Trevelyan, 50). After clearly pointed out his professional description, there is need to also clearly emphasize that he is also notably distinguished as a poet with most of his poem were written during his second return to prison. He was a lover and also a devoted family man.

Significant Event Related to Him

There is need to clearly emphasize that Sir Walters was a prominent figure in history and there was numerous significant historical event associated with him. Walters was part of the suppression of the then Desmond rebellion this took place between 1579 and 1583. The played a significant role in the events that took place in the siege of Smerwick. It must be clearly noted that prominent among the roles he played was his leadership of a military party was the beheaded about 600 Spanish and Italian soldiers (Raleigh, 16-17). After his conquest, he was awarded by the Queen and his received about 40,000 acres of land and distributed them to his friends and those who held allegiance to him. However, he retained a larger proportion of the land making him a prominent and respected landowner in the city of Muster. In the early 1590s Walters traveled from Ireland back to England upon his arrival, he was given an opportunity of present one of his poem to the Queen of England (Raleigh, 23-33).

Royal Charter and Colonization of America

Queen Elizabeth granted him a prominent royal charter in 1584. The charter was an express permission and authorization to explore, rule and also colonize all present and heathen lands of barbarous and also lands and territories that have not been occupied by Christians or lands without any form of Christian influence (Raleigh and Whitehead, 55). He was then promised a reward of one-third of the entire gold and silver mined from those regions. It must also be clearly pointed out that there were other specific conditions attached to the charter handed him by the queen such conditions included the expectation that he carries out the assignment within a seven-year period or loses the right to do so. The charter also granted the permission to lead expeditions across lands and territories which were considered highly successful as revenues from such expeditions were used by the British government to finance the operations of its colonies in America. Haven complete his first expedition he attempted a second in 1587, and this led to the establishment of a settlement in the Roanoke Island which was characterized by a huge amount of trading in vessels by Walters under the close supervision of John White as directed by the Queen of England (Raleigh and Whitehead, 40).

Rise and Fall from Royal Favor

In December of 1581, he returned to England from Ireland based on the fact that his Ireland band has been disbanded. However, he decided to take part in the court life and gradually became the favorite of the queen. She often acknowledged him for his effort in increasing the Protestant church in the British colonies of Ireland. In 1585 he was made a knight and based on his promotion, he was appointed as the warden of the Stannaries, and his appointment required that he sat parliament and was also granted the right to canonize America (Raleigh 22-32).

In 1592 Sir Walters was a recipient of several awards from the Queen for his effort of the glory of his accomplishment for England. Prominent among his awards were the estate of Sherburne, The stand, and Durham residence. He was also appointed as the captain of the guard of the yeomen. There is need to clearly state that although Walters was a man of glory he also had his faults. He was reported to have gotten married secretly to one of the Queen’s in-house servants; she had a son for him without the knowledge or the consent of the Queen (Raleigh 44-45). When his act was made known to the queen, she was greatly displeased with his action, and therefore he was sent to prison. However, he was released a few months after. With his previous action in the mind of the queen, it took him several years to return to the good books of the English royalty. There is need to clearly point out that he was elected to parliament in 1593 and he retired to his private residence 1594 (Raleigh 50-51).

The Trials and Execution

It must be clearly emphasized that his return to favor with the queen didn’t last of long. The queen did in March 1603, and that was shortly after he began to regain limelight. However he was arrested in July 1603 for an alleged plot to commit treason and was sent to prison, his trial began in November. He decided to carry out his own defense, turning down the offer of a lawyer. During the defense, he made it clear that the charges leveled against him were baseless and could not be proven (Raleigh 55-60). He, therefore, requested the presence of his primary accuser in court for cross-examination. The request was turned down by the court, and he was found guilty. He was therefore imprisoned by 1616, and this was the period he wrote most for his remarkable poems. However, Sir Walters died by execution in 1618 and has been remarked as one of the greatest Britons of all times.

His Accomplishments

Having pointed out that Sir Walters was one of the greats Britons that ever lived. It is also important to clearly state that he had a lot of accomplishment, some of these accomplishment were during his life and some accrued to him after his death, Sir Walter was has been argued to be responsible for the introduction of potatoes to the continent of Europe and some portion of Ireland. He will be remembered for the role he played in the colonization of America. He was remarked for his support and the roles he played in the introduction of tobacco to the nation of England. This was accomplished with his partnership a British company currently known as the Scandinavian Tobacco Ltd. There is need to stress that his accomplishment continued even the end of his life. He has been celebrated by various authors, and several monuments and cities have been named after him across the world. Prominent among this is the capital of the state of North California which has its second largest city named after him, and it must be stressed that worthy of mention among his accomplishment was that in 2002 he was appointed as one of the 100 greatest Britons of all times.

Conclusion

There is need to stress that Sir Walters is one of the greatest figures in history he plays a significant role in the royal government of Queen Elizabeth. Although he was born in an era classified by limited civilization and low technological knowledge, his accomplishment was remarkable and outstanding. Based on his outstanding excellence he was a recipient of various awards from her royal majestic. Walters will always be remembered in his for the role she played in colonization of American (Trevelyan, et al. 33-45). He is remembered for his great voyages and explorations that led to several discoveries and also brought revenues to the then British kingdom. There is need to emphasize that although he had is downtimes and times of errors. He was imprisoned twice, first for marriage without permission and second, for an allege attempt to commit treason, and irrespective of the fact that he was executed in prison. Sir Walters is in no doubt was one of the finest of his era, his life and career could classify as outstanding. He could also be classified as a role model because his career success was at the peak and can be defined as a man who hard his eyes on the goal at all times.

Works Cited

Raleigh, Walter, and Neil L. Whitehead. The discoverie of the large, rich and bewtiful empyre of

Guiana. Vol. 77. Manchester University Press, 1997..

Raleigh, Walter. Sir Walter Ralegh’s Discoverie of Guiana. No. 15. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.,

2006.

Raleigh, Walter. The works of sir Walter Ralegh. University press, 1829..

Trevelyan, Raleigh. Sir Walter Raleigh: Being a True and Vivid Account of the Life and Times of

the Explorer, Soldier, Scholar, Poet, and Courtier--The Controversial Hero of the Elizabethian Age. Macmillan, 2002.

Wallace, Willard Mosher. Sir Walter Raleigh. Princeton University Press, 2015.