Sir Walter Raleigh: Not just pipe dreams - II

Four ships under the command of Sir Walter left Plymouth on February 6th, 1595. Stocking up with water in the Azores, they captured two vessels near the Canary Islands:  one was Spanish loaded with arms, and the other was Flemish with a cargo of wine. In the Caribbean they should have joined other ships, but a few that had already set sail before Raleigh were already heading home after making several successful raids. Others, who had left later with the task of diverting Spanish interest in the main fleet, preferred to sail independently towards the north coast of South America. Having assessed the situation, Raleigh sailed towards Trinidad without further delay. 

Hardly had the expedition arrived that the English attacked and captured the capital of Trinidad, San José de Oruña, and its governor, Don Antonio de Berrio. He was the real prize: if there was someone who had information on El Dorado it was Don Antonio. They interrogated him at length, but only acquired vague directions,  fanciful clues and suppositions, the scarce results of previous explorations. However, Raleigh was still convinced that there was a mine, a city or whatever laden with gold somewhere along the Orinoco River and it was only a question of finding it. 

Leaving behind a small garrison to guard Trinidad, Raleigh and around a hundred men entered a branch of the Orinoco River basin on April 15th. One of the ships that had been adapted for navigating the river was also equipped with boats and rafts. The initial part of the journey was extremely hazardous: dense jungle that had to be hacked through, unbearable tropical heat and rain.  They passed through a village of friendly natives, and then arrived at the savanna country. Pursuing the English on a flotilla of canoes, the Spaniards assaulted Raleigh’s rear-guard, but came out worse.  Packed with provisions and equipment to test the minerals, the canoes were captured by Raleigh and his men. When the expedition arrived at the confluence of the Caroni River of the Orinoco, they came across a relatively large native village. Raleigh was skillful in establishing strong relations with the natives in the name of their shared hatred for the Spanish. There they established a base and headed upriver with some local guides, seeking the reported  “wealthy culture” that had settled in the mountains. They observed some magnificent areas of the territory and meanwhile groups of explorers scouted  the area for gold, returning with mineral samples. They had travelled nearly 640 kilometres when the rainy season began. While they were turning back, a local cacique described a goldmine near Mount  Iconuri, and so they sent a squad who investigated and collected interesting rock samples, admired a wonderful waterfall, but found no goldmine.  They returned to Trinidad unscathed, pillaged everything of value and burnt the place to the ground. The same occurred with other Spanish colonies on the way. Don Antonio was abandoned on the beach. On July 13th, they joined up with the ships that had been left to divert the Spanish ships, who had “made some purchases” on the north coast of South America in places like Coro, La Guaira, and Caracas, which had suffered English forays. To reach Caracas, which promised the richest spoils, they had to go on a long, exhausting march over land crossing a mountain pass. By the end of August 1595, they  all arrived in England in the harbour from which they had departed. 

The expedition was not a total failure, as it had been well organised and well conducted. It had yielded a moderate amount of booty and extensive information. Establishing good relations with the natives and their leaders in the Orinoco Valley was the basis for future expeditions. However, no gold was found.  Those who had invested in the venture were highly disappointed, and even accused Raleigh of hiding the gold for himself. Raleigh reacted by publishing a slightly exaggerated report, which became extremely popular. In 1596 he sent a new expedition to Guyana commanded by Captain Lawrence Keymis, who had already taken part in the first expedition. Great progress was made in gathering information on the area, and there was some mention of a large lake on whose shores the city of gold was supposed to have been built.  Not even attempts made by Don Antonio de Berrio were successful. The same year he had sent hundreds of men into the jungle, but nothing was found, and the men were almost all slaughtered by the natives who had been friendly with Raleigh.  

Raleigh had not joined the expedition to Guyana, being busy elsewhere. As the Spanish were planning a new attack on England, preventative measures needed to be taken. A fleet of one hundred and fifty  English and Dutch ships bearing seven thousand mariners set sail from Plymouth on  June 13th, 1596. On board were an equal number of soldiers, divided into four troops, of which one was commanded by Sir Walter. 

Cadiz was one of the key bases of the Spanish fleet. The English arrived there at two o’clock in the morning on June 29th, and in the afternoon they had already captured the city and stared plundering it. Fort San Felipe fell the day after. The fleets left on July14th, after burning everything to the ground. The same actions occurred on the following day in the port of Faro, in Portugal. 

Bad weather conditions had prevented them from seizing and pillaging other cities, which happened frequently at that time with the type of vessels that were used. Not one of the ships laden with treasures from America had been found in the port, as they were still sailing.  However, the city in ruins, and the destruction of many ships, including the thirty-two that were burnt by the Spanish so as not to fall in the hands of the enemy, caused substantial damage to the Spanish Crown. Thus, the dreaded attack on Egland was at least postponed. For services rendered, and wounds inflicted during the battle, Walter Raleigh obtained royal pardon and readmission to the court. However, Bess was excluded for life. 

The following year in June, now rear admiral, Raleigh set sail with a new Anglo-Dutch fleet to deliver the final blow to the Spanish and finish off the work started in Cadiz. A massive attack was launched on another naval base and the entire Spanish fleet returning from America was captured in the Azores. However, this time events proved far worse, and it was the last great naval battle in the Anglo-Spanish conflict. 

Sir Walter returned to life at court, holding a seat in Parliament and becoming Governor of the Island of Jersey in 1600. He had dedicated time and energy to his properties in Ireland as far as possible. However, the local population’s hostility, the long periods away from Ireland, the dubious honesty of someone who should have taken care of Raleigh’s interests, the bad weather conditions of the last few years had made the properties too difficult to manage.  Besides, his American ventures as well as his costly lifestyle had consumed a large part of his fortune and selling his properties could be a solution. He made little profit, but at least it was one less worry. 

The Virginian colony never forgot him, and not only for sentimental reasons: as long as he was unable to prove that all the colonists were dead, he still held legal right over the territories. As early as 1595, returning from Guyana he had tried to reach Roanoke, but the usual prohibitive weather conditions had prevented him from disembarking. In 1602 he equipped two of his own ships with well-paid  trustworthy mariners in order to avoid undertaking risky pirate raids. Apart from gathering information, the aim was to collect the much sought-after sassafras roots that grew abundantly on the American coast.  They returned with the roots, but no fresh information. The same occurred for a later expedition in 1603, which ended badly. Only later, rumours went round among the natives that Europeans were settled in a few places along the coast, maybe those from Roanoke, but nothing more was heard. The Roanoke colonists are still being sought today by archaeologists, but with negative results to date.  

Elizabeth died on March 24th, 1603. Three days later James VI of Scotland set out on his journey to London, meeting with the local gentry on the way. Sir Walter met him at Northampton on April 25th.  As soon as the designated heir saw Raleigh, he addressed him with a cutting, mocking phrase, a sarcastic play on words: “Rawley, Rawley, I have heard but rawly of thee!” Which is a play on words meaning: “Raleigh, Raleigh I have heard only rarely about you!”. The reason he was treated so badly was that life at court had its own strict rules, and the high-ranking courtiers vying for status and power were more ruthless than soldiers at war. For years Raleigh’s worst enemies, who feared him or who wished to rise in rank at his expense, had established contact with the rightful pretender to the throne.  They had warned him away from the gentleman that was “atheist, indiscreet and incompetent”, as well as the fact that Raleigh had tried to thwart James’ candidature.  Depicting Raleigh only in terms of the worst aspects of his character, his enemies omitted to mention his talents that Elizabeth had so much admired, and above all his firm allegiance to England. 

On April 28th, a month following  her death, the Queen’s funeral was held. Around a thousand people made up the procession that wound along the streets for several miles. The focus of attention was the royal chariot bearing the coffin, escorted by the Queen’s Guards, headed by Raleigh in black mantle and hat, halberds pointing upwards in sign of mourning. 

In May, James I of England stripped Raleigh of a large part of his revenue and positions, assigning a modest compensation. First, the prestigious position of Captain of the Guard. Then, his rights to Virginia. Hurt and upset, but still unaware of the King’s mentality and designs and hoping to recover the King’s esteem, he sent a written memo in which he proposed new attacks against Spain. Ideas that were consistent with what he had believed all his life, but which clashed violently with the new monarch’s aims and strategies.  In order to get rid of this subversive, the King ordered Raleigh to leave the large palace on the Thames within two weeks,  which the deceased Queen had  granted him. Raleigh knew how to react to bad luck, as there were various ways to reverse this situation, but by now it was already compromised. 

Raleigh’s principal enemy at court, Sir Robert Cecil, Secretary of State under Elizabeth, revealed to be more astute and politically minded than him. While Raleigh criticised the King, Sir Robert had already established a secret correspondence with the King, thus succeeding not only in maligning Raleigh and others, but also in studying the King, his thoughts and objectives, thereby shrewdly modifying his opinions in line with those of the Scottish King. Meanwhile, in London he worked on strengthening his candidature to be elevated to peer of the realm, which James I duly granted. 

Unfortunately for Raleigh, there were aspects that went beyond insinuation or radically different ideas and strategies, which further rendered incompatible his relations with James.  Raleigh was influential and strong-willed, while James was introverted and shy. Raleigh was reckless and instinctive, while the other was meticulous, pedantic and meditative. He devoted his life to ventures, risk and adventures, whereas James was cautious, anxious and clung to his certitudes. Both were conceited and touchy. Not even in the field that they shared, namely culture, prose and writing poetry were there common elements.  James, who wielded the most power, may have felt inadequate compared to this haughty pirate and poet who made no effort to flatter the King, and this was intolerable. A further reason for the conflict was the pipe and tobacco that Raleigh was fond of carrying with him everywhere, which the King detested.  Walter did not understand, or wished not to understand, that in this lopsided  confrontation he was naturally the loser. 

On  July 20th, Sir Walter was arrested and taken again to the Tower of London, where a week later he tried to commit suicide. The charge was that he had conspired with Spain to overthrow the King and place another pretender on the throne. However, the conspiracy may have been against Raleigh. The charge of colluding with the Spanish was paradoxical, considering that he had fought against them all his life. and in turn they hated him more than the devil himself. The trial took place on November 17th in Windsor Castle. The plaintiff addressed the defendant saying: “Thou art a monster, thou hast an English face, but a Spanish heart!” It only took fifteen minutes to condemn him to being hung, drawn, quartered and beheaded, which was the sentence for traitors.  The King halted the execution only on December 13^th, 1603, which was the day of the execution, and sent him back to the Tower.  

Prison life was not the same for everyone. A gentleman like Raleigh was treated well, even if in disgrace and under strict supervision. He had a large apartment that also accommodated his family, books, and servants. He was allowed to receive visits, and to send and receive correspondence. In 1605 the prison saw the birth of Carew, Walter and Bess’s third child. However, all of this was not enough to make the situation comfortable. In order not to slide into depression, he immersed himself in his books, and sought to re-establish relations and oversee his business affairs as far as possible.  Banished from his great ventures, he began to write a complex general history of the world, dedicated to Henry, James’ eldest son, with whom he had established an affectionate relationship and whom he had taught on the subject of shipbuilding and naval battles,. Even the Queen was fond of him while the King, surrounded by Walter’s enemies, continued to detest him. Raleigh even found the time to conduct experiments in alchemy and developed a method for curing tobacco. In addition, he wrote poetry, and numerous letters. However, the spacious apartment was cold and damp, and as the years went by the family’s health was affected.  

In 1611 the first part of his historical work was published, but the King considered it too insolent in its criticism of the princes and censored it. Arranging for it to be withdrawn from the market, two years later Raleigh’s new edition was published and was highly successful. In 1612 the death of Henry caused great grief. Henry had tried in vain to have Raleigh released from prison, and as a result Raleigh abandoned his work dedicated to Henry. 

During the same year long before Henry’s death, his worst enemy, Sir Robert Cecil, had died. Meanwhile at court, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham and the King’s new favourite obscured another of Raleigh’s powerful enemies: Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, who later fell into disgrace being involved in a murder case.  This event provided Raleigh with a glimmer of hope, and he managed to establish good relations with Villiers and also with the new Secretary of State, Sir Ralph Winwood: the ever-shifting court alliances and intrigue meant he was back in the game. As a consequence, surveillance was less stringent, and now he had to increase his efforts to be released. As the King’s finances were scarce, suggesting a venture that would make him wealthy again could be an excellent solution. 

Over the years Sir Walter had maintained contact with Guyana, funding regular missions of his trustees, strengthening friendly relations with the local population, and investigating the location of the mine. Eldorado, the city of gold, was only a fable, but the speculation that there was a deposit not far from the Orinoco River was increasingly credible. He had meditated so many times on how to organise a new adventure and find support in his correspondents. Now that there was a glimmer of hope, he wrote a petition to Queen Anne and Sir Ralph Winwood. In brief, he proposed a permanent settlement in Guyana that aimed to exploit the rich resources, specifying that he himself, together with others, would fund the venture. The King would run no risks, and in addition he would receive a fifth of the ingots. 

“This is an attack on my King’s interests”, protested the Spanish ambassador, and James wished to halt the venture immediately. However, the pro-Raleigh party pressure on the King prevailed, especially as they had generously donated large sums of money to two of his favourite’s relatives. Informed of the positive outcome, Raleigh wrote a letter of acknowledgement and thanks to Sir Ralph and three days later, on March 19th, 1616, he was released from prison. It was not the first time he had left the Tower of London, but this time he had had to wait almost thirteen years.  His joy at being released and his reflections on Fate’s mysterious ways were mentioned to the King, who added that “he might die in that deceit”.  

In the same period, long before being released, Raleigh had written again to Villiers, insisting on the Guyana venture, but above all calling for the overcoming of misunderstanding and a new beginning between him and the King to whom he had sworn total allegiance. “To die for the King and not by the King is all the ambition I have in the world”. The reluctant King eventually agreed to the venture. 

The organisation of the venture, including the sale of some of Raleigh’s properties, provoked the violent reaction on the part of the Spanish ambassador. It was a hostile, pirate venture that could seriously jeopardise the peace agreement. Raleigh replied that he simply intended to sail to Guyana, a land belonging to England both for its discovery and the consensus of the natives. There was no aggressive intention to attack Spanish ships or territories. The ambassador replied that if their intention was only to settle in Guyana and exploit the mines there, then he had no objections. As for the King, while arrangements were going ahead, he lay down two strict conditions: the first was that he wanted a written report containing details of the expedition and the second was that Raleigh should avoid any kind of conflict with the Spanish, with whom he had signed a peace settlement in 1604. On March 28th, 1617, when the fleet of fifteen ships set sail down the Thames under his command, Admiral Raleigh felt that he was beginning to live again and that this was the moment of true freedom. 

The expedition arrived at the estuary of the Cayenne River in Guyana on November 12th. They had been forced to take shelter for two months in Cork harbour in Ireland due to storms and strong winds. During the crossing, a disease had spread on board, a sort of measles that had caused many deaths. Raleigh had also been infected, but managed to survive, albeit still ill and extremely weak.  However, he was calm, reassured by the friendly welcome of the natives, confident that he could complete the mission as long as the Spanish took no countermeasures, seeing that they had basically been informed. Yet, he had to stay on land when on December 10th five ships under the command of Lawrence Keymis (who had already taken part in previous expeditions) sailed towards the Orinoco River. Raleigh gave precise instructions on where to search, what to do, and the need to stay as far away from the Spanish as possible. The ships set sail, with his son, Wat, on board, and he just had to wait. After a month, he heard from the natives that there had been armed conflict on the river. Following another two weeks, a ship arrived from another base that the English had established at Punta De Gallo on the Island of Trinidad. Keymis had landed there with only three ships, and he sent Raleigh a written report on the events. 

Sailing up the Orinoco, they had sighted Santo Thomé, unfamiliar to them. It had been founded by the Spanish two years after the English from the first expedition had left in 1595. In order to avoid any problems, the ships had reached the shore in a secluded place,  disembarking a small crew that camped for the night. The next day they should have  headed in the direction of the alleged site where, according to Raleigh’s indications, they would have found the goldmine. However, they were assaulted during the night and suffered heavy losses. They had reacted, pursuing the enemy and forced to attack Santo Thomè and here Wat, the Admiral’s son, was killed in action while leading his men.  Some gold was found in a few buildings in the village that were destroyed following a long skirmish. In order to complete the mission, Keymis set out with a small group of mariners in search of the site of the mine shown on the map, but yet again the Spanish were there and promptly blocked their passage. The Spanish were everywhere in the virtually impenetrable bush. As the English were not supposed to attack them, the only solution was to retreat. This is Keymis’ version, but there are other English sources, and obviously the Spanish sources have another version of the events. 

One can imagine Raleigh’s state of mind when he received the report from a faithful friend who had accompanied him in many battles, grief-stricken for the death of his son and for a mission that was foundering like the two ships swallowed up by the waters of the Orinoco River. He was also in a state of despair concerning the Spanish ambassador’s devious assertions and assurances, but he may not have considered how much damage and pain he had inflicted on Spain. 

Concerning the King’s conduct, Raleigh had proof that he had passed details of Raleigh’s mission onto the Spanish even before he had departed, and he wondered why. The King may have wished to ruin him, also ruining England or simply because the King had succumbed to the insistence of the ambassador. 

At that point his ill health, the dejection of his men and the suffocating presence of the Spanish that he had to avoid meant that he had little choice. He was well aware that going home empty-handed with the charge of disobedience meant risking his life, but he had to go home to ask questions and confirm once and for all his allegiance and explain the perverse logic of his course of action. 

The fleet was reunited in Punta de Gallo and Raleigh met Keymis, for whom he spared no sympathy. Thus Keymis committed suicide. There were arguments between commanders on whether to sail home or stay at sea for a while. On Raleigh’s vessel, which he had had built and called Destiny,  the crew were on the point of mutiny. Eventually, in mid-June 1618, the Destiny entered Plymouth harbour with a cargo of tobacco. 

News of the disaster in Guyana had already been circulating around London well before Raleigh’s return. The Spanish ambassador, feigning indignation, shouted Piratas! Piratas! Piratas! in the presence of the King. James, more worried about offending the Spanish than ascertaining the awkward truth, had published earlier an indignant proclamation against the guilty parties and promised harsh punishment. Raleigh found out about this as soon as he arrived. He put his affairs in order and wrote a passionate, not diplomatic letter in his own defence. Then, he set off for London, but was immediately stopped by Sir Lewis Stukley, responsible for arresting Raleigh and escorting him to the capital. They travelled without haste and little supervision, and Raleigh tried to delay the arrival. In London on August 7th, he was not taken immediately to prison, but to his wife’s home. Helped by Stukley and others, he managed to board a vessel that would have taken him to France, but this turned out to be a trick. Stopped and arrested seriously this time, on August 9th Raleigh  entered the Tower of London. 

It is curious why he was detained there for almost three months, especially as his fate was sealed. It is likely there were legal problems. During those three months, every kind of evidence was sought to support the charges against him. They interrogated the survivors from Guyana, his friends, wife, and servants. His correspondence was intercepted. He underwent interrogation by the commissioners. He had a guard who pretended to be his confidant who was to report anything that could be judged negatively, and by raising his hopes lead him to “confess”. However, Sir Walter, although often feverish, was always lucid and had a fighting spirit, even if his suffering had refined his character,  attenuating his more acerbic aspects. 

Everything contributed to demonstrating his innocence, the ambiguity of the King and that of the Spanish. The only possible charge could be that of attempting to escape. However, too much time had elapsed from the older sentence in 1603, and thus could not be used. More than one influential figure, including the Queen, attempted to intervene on his behalf, and Raleigh also wrote his last letter to the King, pleading his case. However, the King was in his own limited world, prisoner of his relationship with Spain and the narrow mentality of an absolute sovereign. The Spanish were putting pressure on him. In mid-October Raleigh was informed that his execution was imminent. The person who had originally been a coarse soldier that moved astutely in court circles was now almost a saint and philosopher who accepted his fate. On October 27th he had a long encounter with Bess to say farewell. His young son preferred not to see him because he was afraid of being upset. On October 28th he was pulled from his bed and dragged to court, where he was asked if he had any objections to being condemned. He began to argue his case skillfully,  but they silenced him. Then he appealed to the King’s generosity, but this was not enough. Ruling that he could produce no valid arguments, they formally confirmed what had in fact already been decided: the following day he would cease to live at 9 o’clock in the morning. 

He spent the remaining hours of his life writing poetry, letters and putting his things into order. On the morning of October 29, 1618, he received religious solace, had a hearty breakfast, smoked his pipe for a while, sipped a glass of sherry and went to get dressed in his usual finery.  

Methods of execution had changed compared to the previous sentence: he would ‘only’ be beheaded. The executioner’s block stood in front of Parliament, where a large crowd was gathering.  The condemned man approached with difficulty, feverish eyes, calm and dignified, gently greeting his numerous acquaintances. Some people spoke and then it was his turn: sitting on the edge of the scaffold, surrounded by his friends, in a faint voice he reaffirmed his arguments against the accusations. He approached the axe and felt its large edge with his thumb, saying: “’Tis a sharp medicine, but it will cure all that ails”.  Then he rested his head on the block and invited the executioner to proceed. Once the execution was over, the executioner raised Raleigh’s head and displayed it to the crowd in a circular movement. However, he omitted to utter the traditional phrase:  “This is the head of a traitor!”

Gentleman, soldier, sailor, adventurer, husband and father, pleasure-seeker, courtier, statesman, businessman, pirate, historian and poet, Sir Walter Raleigh was a man like everyone with his strengths and weaknesses. However, these features are greatly, almost excessively heightened in him, resembling the many aspects and episodes in his life. A situation that is common to great men, on whom it is easier to pass judgement if one views their legacy. 

Thirty years after his death, Walter Raleigh is still alive and well, a sort of myth especially in the USA and Great Britain. One only has to see the numerous books written about him, even published recently, and Internet sources on his feats. 

The disappointing ventures in Virginia were, however, the seeds that were sown for England’s subsequent colonial expansion. Together with other privateers, improving naval technology and navigation methods, Sir Walter laid the foundations for Britain’s future control of the seas. Nor should the ventures in Guyana be underestimated or dismissed as the pursuit of a dream. We will never know if the goldmine really existed, although we know that in the mid-1800s a rich vein of gold was mined in El Callao, a few miles south of the Orinoco River, and that today reserves of diamonds, gold and other important minerals have been found in the same river basin.  

Raleigh’s History of the World is not only a mere list of facts, but also an outstanding essay, much admired by people such as John Milton and John Locke, with political implications that had greatly irritated King James, who in his own way was right: along with other works by the same author, his History substantially influenced English politicians of that time, fuelling Parliament’s aversion towards the Tudor dynasty. 

Sir Walter Raleigh’s dissemination of pipe and tobacco was not only a question of smoking: he was fundamental in triggering an important social phenomenon with significant economic implications throughout Europe. 

It is worth citing an extract by the American critic, Charles Frederick Tucker Brooke on Raleigh’s poetic works, which stand high among Renaissance and Elizabethan literary works:

Raleigh’s poetic lines, wrote the critic C. F. Tucker Brooke, were like his mind: “fierce, swift and restless as a bird of prey … They are highly poignant, often bitter or defiant, savouring more of fierce insight than of ordered meditation. They are rich in epigram and very clever in conceit, and they have a tang that makes them unforgettable.”