Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh ( , , or ; c . 155429 October 1618 ) was an English aristocrat , writer , poet , soldier , courtier , spy , and explorer . He is also well known for popularizing tobacco in England . Raleigh was born to a Protestant family in Devon , the son of Walter Raleigh and Catherine Champernowne . Little is known of his early life , though he spent some time in Ireland , in Killua Castle , Clonmellon , County Westmeath , taking part in the suppression of rebellions and participating in the Siege of Smerwick . Later he became a landlord of property confiscated from the native Irish . He rose rapidly in the favour of Queen Elizabeth I , and was knighted in 1585 . Instrumental in the English colonisation of North America , Raleigh was granted a royal patent to explore Virginia , which paved the way for future English settlements . In 1591 he secretly married Elizabeth Throckmorton , one of the Queen ' s ladies - in - waiting , without the Queen ' s permission , for which he and his wife were sent to the Tower of London . After his release , they retired to his estate at Sherborne , Dorset . In 1594 Raleigh heard of a " City of Gold " in South America and sailed to find it , publishing an exaggerated account of his experiences in a book that contributed to the legend of " El Dorado " . After Queen Elizabeth died in 1603 Raleigh was again imprisoned in the Tower , this time for being involved in the Main Plot against King James I , who was not favourably disposed toward him . In 1616 he was released to lead a second expedition in search of El Dorado . This was unsuccessful and men under his command ransacked a Spanish outpost . He returned to England and , to appease the Spanish , was arrested and executed in 1618 . Raleigh was one of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era . In 2002 he featured in the BBC poll of the 100 Greatest Britons . Early life . Little is known about Raleigh ' s birth . Some historians believe he was born on 22 January 1552 , although the " Oxford Dictionary of National Biography " currently favours a date of 1554 . He grew up in the house of Hayes Barton , a farmhouse in the village of East Budleigh , not far from Budleigh Salterton , in Devon , England . He was the youngest of five sons born to Catherine Champernowne in two successive marriages . His half brothers , John Gilbert , Humphrey Gilbert , Adrian Gilbert , and full brother Carew Raleigh were also prominent during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I . Catherine Champernowne was a niece of Kat Ashley , Elizabeth ' s governess , who introduced the young men at court . Raleigh ' s family was highly Protestant in religious orientation and had a number of near - escapes during the reign of the Roman Catholic Queen Mary I of England . In the most notable of these , his father had to hide in a tower to avoid execution . As a result , during his childhood , Raleigh developed a hatred of Roman Catholicism and proved himself quick to express it after Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558 . In matters of religion Elizabeth was more moderate than her sister Mary . In 1568 or 1572 , Raleigh was registered as an undergraduate at Oriel College , Oxford but does not seem to have taken up residence . In 1575 , he was registered at the Middle Temple . At his trial in 1603 , he stated that he had never studied law . His life between these two dates is uncertain but in his " History of the World " he claimed to be an eye - witness at the Battle of Moncontour ( 3 October 1569 ) in France . In 1575 or 1576 Raleigh returned to England . Ireland . Between 1579 and 1583 , Raleigh took part in the suppression of the Desmond Rebellions . He was present at the siege of Smerwick . Upon the seizure and distribution of land following the attainders arising from the rebellion , Raleigh received , including the coastal walled towns of Youghal and Lismore . This made him one of the principal landowners in Munster , but he enjoyed limited success in inducing English tenants to settle on his estates . During his seventeen years as an Irish landlord , frequently being domiciled at Killua Castle , Clonmellon , county Westmeath , Raleigh made the town of Youghal his occasional home . He was mayor there from 1588 to 1589 . His town mansion , Myrtle Grove , is assumed to be the setting for the story that his servant doused him with a bucket of water after seeing clouds of smoke coming from Raleigh ' s pipe , in the belief he had been set alight . But this story is also told of other places associated with Raleigh : the Virginia Ash inn in Henstridge near Sherborne , Sherborne Castle , and South Wraxall Manor in Wiltshire , home of Raleigh ' s friend , Sir Walter Long . Amongst Raleigh ' s acquaintances in Munster was another Englishman who had been granted land there , the poet Edmund Spenser . In the 1590s , he and Raleigh travelled together from Ireland to the court at London , where Spenser presented part of his allegorical poem , the " Faerie Queene " , to Elizabeth I . Raleigh ' s management of his Irish estates ran into difficulties , which contributed to a decline in his fortunes . In 1602 , he sold the lands to Richard Boyle , 1st Earl of Cork , who subsequently prospered under kings James I and Charles I . Following Raleigh ' s death , members of his family approached Boyle for compensation on the ground that Raleigh had struck an improvident bargain . The New World . Raleigh ' s plan in 1584 for colonisation in the " Colony and Dominion of Virginia " in North America ended in failure at Roanoke Island , but paved the way for subsequent colonies . These expeditions were funded primarily by Raleigh and his friends , but never provided the steady stream of revenue necessary to maintain a colony in America . ( Subsequent colonization attempts in the early 17th century were made under the joint - stock Virginia Company , which was able to raise the capital necessary to create successful colonies . ) In 1587 , Raleigh attempted a second expedition , again establishing a settlement on Roanoke Island . This time , a more diverse group of settlers was sent , including some entire families , under the governance of John White . 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 fleet , the ships were given permission to sail . 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 Portuguese navigator hired by Raleigh , outweighed White ' s objections to the delay . When the supply ship arrived in Roanoke , 3 years later than planned , the colonists had disappeared . The only clue to their fate was the word " CROATOAN " and letters " CRO " carved into tree trunks . White had arranged with the settlers that if they should relocate , the name of their destination be carved into a tree or corner - post . This suggested the possibilities that they had relocated to Croatoan Island ( now Hatteras Island ) . But a hurricane prevented John White from investigating the island for survivors . Other speculation includes their having starved , or been swept away or lost at sea during the stormy weather of 1588 . No further attempts at contact were recorded for some years . Whatever the fate of the settlers , the settlement is now remembered as the " Lost Colony of Roanoke Island " . Later life . 1580s . In December 1581 , Raleigh returned to England from Ireland to despatches as his company had been disbanded . He took part in Court life and became a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I . Various colourful stories are told about him at this period , but they are likely apocryphal . In 1585 Raleigh was knighted and was appointed warden of the stannaries , that is of the mines of Cornwall and Devon , Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall , and vice - admiral of the two counties . Both in 1585 and 1586 , he sat in parliament as member for Devonshire . Raleigh commissioned the shipbuilder R . Chapman , of Deptford to build a ship for him . Originally called " Ark " , it became " Ark Raleigh " , following the convention at the time by which the ship bore the name of its owner . The Crown , in the form of Queen Elizabeth I , purchased the ship from Raleigh in January 1587 , for the sum of £5 , 000 ( £ as of 2018 ) . ( This took the form of a reduction in the sum Sir Walter owed the queen : he received Exchequer tallies , but no money . ) As a result , the ship was renamed " Ark Royal " . 1590 – 1603 . In 1592 , Raleigh was given many rewards by the Queen , including Durham House in the Strand and the estate of Sherborne , Dorset . He was appointed Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard . However , he had not been given any of the great offices of state . In the Armada year of 1588 , Raleigh was appointed Vice Admiral of Devon , looking after the coastal defences and military levies . In 1591 , Raleigh was secretly married to Elizabeth " Bess " Throckmorton ( or Throgmorton ) . She was one of the Queen ' s ladies - in - waiting , eleven years his junior , and was pregnant at the time . She gave birth to a son , believed to be named Damerei , who was given to a wet nurse at Durham House , but died in October 1592 of plague . Bess resumed her duties to the queen . The following year , the unauthorised marriage was discovered and the Queen ordered Raleigh imprisoned and Bess dismissed from court . Both were imprisoned in the Tower of London in June 1592 . He was released from prison in August 1592 to help set up an expedition for an attack on the Spanish coast . Although recalled by the Queen , the fleet captured an incredibly rich prize , the " Madre de Deus " ( Mother of God ) off Flores of which he had to divide the spoils . Bess was released in December . It would be several years before Raleigh returned to favour . The couple remained devoted to each other . During Raleigh ' s absences , Bess proved a capable manager of the family ' s fortunes and reputation . They had two more sons , Walter ( known as Wat ) and Carew . Raleigh was elected a burgess of Mitchell , Cornwall , in the parliament of 1593 . He retired to his estate at Sherborne where he built a new house , completed in 1594 , known then as Sherborne Lodge . Since extended , it is now known as Sherborne ( new ) Castle . He made friends with the local gentry , such as Sir Ralph Horsey of Clifton Maybank and Charles Thynne of Longleat . During this period at a dinner party at Horsey ' s , there was a heated discussion about religion . The argument later gave rise to charges of atheism against Raleigh . He was elected to Parliament , speaking on religious and naval matters . In 1594 , he came into possession of a Spanish account of a great golden city at the headwaters of the Caroní River . A year later he explored what is now Guyana and eastern Venezuela in search of " Manoa " , the legendary city . Once back in England , he published " The Discovery of Guiana " ( 1596 ) an account of his voyage which made exaggerated claims as to what had been discovered . The book can be seen as a contribution to the " El Dorado " legend . Although Venezuela has gold deposits , there is no evidence Raleigh found any mines . He is sometimes said to have discovered Angel Falls , but these claims are considered far - fetched . In 1596 Raleigh took part in the capture of Cádiz , where he was wounded . He was also the second - in - command of the Islands Voyage to the Azores in 1597 . In 1597 , he was chosen member of parliament for Dorset , and , in 1601 , for Cornwall . He was unique in the Elizabethan period in sitting for three counties . From 1600 to 1603 , as Governor of the Channel Island of Jersey , Raleigh modernised its defences . This included construction of a new fort protecting the approaches to Saint Helier , " Fort Isabella Bellissima " , or Elizabeth Castle . Trial and imprisonment . Royal favour with Queen Elizabeth had been restored by this time but his good fortune did not last . The Queen died in 1603 , and Raleigh was arrested at Exeter Inn , Ashburton , Devon and imprisoned in the Tower of London on 19 July 1603 . On 17 November , Raleigh was tried in the converted Great Hall of Winchester Castle for treason , due to his involvement in the Main Plot against King James . Raleigh conducted his defence . The chief evidence against Raleigh was the signed and sworn confession of his friend Henry Brooke , 11th Baron Cobham . Raleigh frequently requested that Cobham be called in to testify so that he might recant , " [ Let ] my accuser come face to face , and be deposed . Were the case but for a small copyhold , you would have witnesses or good proof to lead the jury to a verdict ; and I am here for my life ! " Raleigh essentially was objecting that the evidence against him was " hearsay " ; but the tribunal refused to allow Cobham to testify and be cross examined . Although hearsay was frowned upon under common law , Raleigh was tried under civil law , which allowed hearsay . King James spared his life , despite a guilty verdict . In October 1994 documents which had previously been imperfectly catalogued at the Bodleian Library were discovered during random checking of papers held there . These included Raleigh ' s own deposition and Cobham ' s statement to the tribunal , and provide strong evidence that Raleigh denounced King James and spoke in favour of a Spanish invasion , and went so far as to advise on the best invasion location ( he recommended Milford Haven ) ; he also requested a Spanish pension of £1 , 500 a year in return for his spying . He remained imprisoned in the Tower until 1616 . While there , he wrote many treatises and the first volume of " The Historie of the World " ( published 1628 ) about the ancient history of Greece and Rome . His son , Carew , was conceived and born ( 1604 ) while Raleigh was imprisoned in the Tower . Second voyage to Guiana , 1617 – 1618 . In 1616 , Raleigh was released in order to conduct a second expedition to Venezuela in search of " El Dorado " . During the expedition , Raleigh ' s men , under the command of Lawrence Keymis , attacked the Spanish outpost of Santo Tomé de Guayana ( San Tomé ) on the Orinoco River . In the initial attack on the settlement , Raleigh ' s son , Walter , was fatally shot . On Raleigh ' s return to England , an outraged Count Gondomar , the Spanish ambassador , successfully demanded that King James reinstate Raleigh ' s death sentence . Raleigh was brought to London from Plymouth , by Sir Lewis Stukeley , and passed up numerous opportunities to make an effective escape . Execution and aftermath . Raleigh was beheaded in the Old Palace Yard at the Palace of Westminster on 29 October 1618 . " Let us dispatch " , he said to his executioner . " At this hour my comes upon me . I would not have my enemies think I quaked from fear . " After he was allowed to see the axe that would behead him , he mused : " This is a sharp Medicine , but it is a Physician for all diseases and miseries . " According to many biographers – for instance , Raleigh Trevelyan in " Sir Walter Raleigh " ( 2002 ) – Raleigh ' s final words ( as he lay ready for the axe to fall ) were : " Strike , man , strike ! " Having been one of the people to popularise tobacco smoking in England , he left a small tobacco pouch , found in his cell shortly after his execution . Engraved upon the pouch was a Latin inscription : " Comes meus fuit in illo miserrimo tempore " ( " It was my companion at that most miserable time " ) . Raleigh ' s head was embalmed and presented to his wife . His body was to be buried in the local church in Beddington , Surrey , the home of Lady Raleigh , but was finally laid to rest in St . Margaret ' s , Westminster , where his tomb may still be visited today . " The Lords " , she wrote , " have given me his dead body , though they have denied me his life . God hold me in my wits . " It has been said that Lady Raleigh kept her husband ' s head in a velvet bag until her death . After his wife ' s death 29 years later , Raleigh ' s head was returned to his tomb and interred at St . Margaret ' s Church . Although Raleigh ' s popularity had waned considerably since his Elizabethan heyday , his execution was seen by many , both at the time and since , as unnecessary and unjust , as for many years his involvement in the Main Plot seemed to have been limited to a meeting with Lord Cobham . One of the judges at his trial later said : " The justice of England has never been so degraded and injured as by the condemnation of the honourable Sir Walter Raleigh . " This view has been less widely held since the discovery of some of the 1603 tribunal ' s paperwork in the Bodleian Library in 1994 , which strongly supports the case against Raleigh . Poetry . Raleigh ' s poetry is written in the relatively straightforward , unornamented mode known as the plain style . C . S . Lewis considered Raleigh one of the era ' s " silver poets " , a group of writers who resisted the Italian Renaissance influence of dense classical reference and elaborate poetic devices . In poems such as " What is Our Life " and " The Lie " , Raleigh expresses a " contemptus mundi " ( contempt of the world ) attitude more characteristic of the Middle Ages than of the dawning era of humanistic optimism . But , his lesser - known long poem " The Ocean to Cynthia " combines this vein with the more elaborate conceits associated with his contemporaries Edmund Spenser and John Donne , expressing a melancholy sense of history . Raleigh wrote a poetic response to Christopher Marlowe ' s " The Passionate Shepherd to His Love " of 1592 , entitled " The Nymph ' s Reply to the Shepherd " . Both were written in the style of traditional pastoral poetry and follow the structure of six four - line stanzas employing a rhyme scheme of AABB , with Raleigh ' s an almost line - for - line refutation of Marlowe ' s sentiments . Years later the 20th century poet William Carlos Williams would join the poetic " argument " with his " Raleigh was Right . " Legacy . The state capital of North Carolina and its second largest city was named Raleigh in 1792 for Sir Walter , sponsor of the Roanoke Colony . In the city a bronze statue , which has been moved around different locations within the city , was cast in honor of the city ' s namesake . The " Lost Colony " is commemorated at the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on Roanoke Island , North Carolina . One of eleven boarding houses at the Royal Hospital School has been named after Raleigh . Raleigh County , West Virginia , is also named in his honor .