Sir Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh’s influence had a major and lasting impact on the New World. Though he never visited North America, his patriotism, vision and ambition are forever imprinted on its history and culture.
Born in 1552, he grew to manhood in the early years of Elizabeth I’s reign; a time of intense rivalry between all western European nations. This enmity was greatest between England and Spain. Spain was the king of the high seas. In the 16th century, that made it the leader of the world. Its wealth was immense and mounting. It had begun exploring and claiming for its own territories in the New World. The Spanish king, Philip II, ruled a quarter of Europe’s population, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines and numerous islands and trading bases.
Walter Raleigh acquired the honorific “Sir” when he was knighted in 1584; his fighting against the Irish and privateering against the Spanish having found great favor with the Queen. Legend has it that his courtly manner – having spread his velvet cloak on a muddy area to save his sovereign’s dainty footwear – also helped make Sir Walter Raleigh a singular favorite in her court.
This favor he used to his advantage in advancing his vision of thwarting Spain’s efforts in the New World by establishing English colonies on its shores. Queen Elizabeth I supported his vision and colonies were seeded in 1585, 1586 and 1587 on islands off the coast of what is now North Carolina. The first colonists returned to England. The fourth of his sponsored explorations brought 89 men, 17 women, and nine children to our shores. They founded “The Citie of Raleigh in Virginia on Roanoke Island.” (All of North America was referred to at that time as Virginia in honor of the “Virgin Queen” Elizabeth I.) The inhabitants of the original “Citie of Raleigh” disappeared leaving only a mystery and the word “Coatoan” carved on a tree trunk. This settlement is known as the “Lost Colony.” The first child to be born of English speaking parents in the New World, Virginia Dare, was among the vanished of the ill—fated colony.
While his colonization efforts failed, acceptance of his vision and its importance to England strengthened and led to the English colonization of the land between Newfoundland and Florida. This was the first move that resulted in the creation of the British Empire, which at its peak was the largest formal empire the world has ever known.
The risky business of being a monarch’s favorite turned sour when Sir Walter Raleigh married one of the Queen’s maids of honor. Consequently, he was banished from court. However, ardors and tempers cooled over the years, and Sir Walter Raleigh served as a leading member of the House of Commons throughout the latter half of Elizabeth I’s reign.
Age did not rob Sir Walter Raleigh of his wanderlust, curiosity and intellectual vigor. He spent many of his last years exploring Guiana and writing. However, the combination of politics and his dashing profile and personality did have deadly consequences in the end. While history accounts the charges as flimsy, Sir Walter Raleigh was convicted of trying to overthrow Elizabeth I’s successor to the throne, King James I. Sir Walter was beheaded October 29, 1618.
When the site for the capital city of North Carolina was selected in 1792, it was deemed that the city should be named Raleigh in honor of this dashing giant of history.
The statue you see above which stands in front of the Raleigh Convention Center is a likeness of Sir Walter Raleigh. It was cast in bronze by the Italian sculptor, Bruno Lucchesi, at his home in Pietrasanta, Italy. It was dedicated by the governor of North Carolina in Bicentennial Plaza on December 3, 1976, the waning days of the nation’s two-hundredth birthday.
Brought to you by the City of Raleigh, Public Affairs Dept.