Introductory Note

Sir Walter Raleigh may be taken as the great typical figure of the
age of Elizabeth. Courtier and statesman, soldier and sailor,
scientist and man of letters, he engaged in almost all the main
lines of public activity in his time, and was distinguished in
them all.

His father was a Devonshire gentleman of property, connected with
many of the distinguished families of the south of England. Walter
was born about 1552 and was educated at Oxford. He first saw
military service in the Huguenot army in France in 1569, and in
1578 engaged, with his half-brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, in the
first of his expeditions against the Spaniards. After some service
in Ireland, he attracted the attention of the Queen, and rapidly
rose to the perilous position of her chief favorite. With her
approval, he fitted out two expeditions for the colonization of
Virginia, neither of which did his royal mistress permit him to
lead in person, and neither of which succeeded in establishing a
permanent settlement.

After about six years of high favor, Raleigh found his position at
court endangered by the rivalry of Essex, and in 1592, on
returning from convoying a squadron he had fitted out against the
Spanish, he was thrown into the Tower by the orders of the Queen,
who had discovered an intrigue between him and one of her ladies
whom he subsequently married. He was ultimately released, engaged
in various naval exploits, and in 1594 sailed for South America on
the voyage described in the following narrative.

On the death of Elizabeth, Raleigh’s misfortunes increased. He was
accused of treason against James I, condemned, reprieved, and
imprisoned for twelve years, during which he wrote his "History of
the World," and engaged in scientific researches. In 1616 he was
liberated, to make another attempt to find the gold mine in
Venezuela; but the expedition was disastrous, and, on his return,
Raleigh was executed on the old charge in 1618. In his vices as in
his virtues, Raleigh is a thorough representative of the great
adventurers who laid the foundations of the British Empire.