Walter Ralegh
Sir Walter Ralegh (1554?—1618) was an English courtier, explorer, colonizer, adventurer, poet, and historian. He was born near East Budleigh in Devon, and Aubrey said that he retained a Devon accent all his life.[1] Aubrey, Naunton,[2] and Fuller[3] have various anecdotes about him, but the difficulty of knowing the assumptions of a past age make it difficult to judge his character.
The courtier and politician
Walter was the fourth son in his family, and it is uncertain how he was introduced to the court of Elizabeth, but by 1583 he had an acknowledged position there, and was soon very influential. He destroyed this influence by his marriage to one of the queen's maids of honour, and although he was eventually reinstated at court he never regained the same influence, and he never became a member of the Privy council, which may indicate that his judgment was not much valued. He was a Member of Parliament for various seats, all in the West Country.[4] The main thrust of his politics was opposition to Spain and he was considered a leader of the anti-Spanish party. His prominent position at court was enough to make him generally hated, but his prosecution for treason under James VI and I, who was conspicuously pro-Spanish, helped to make him a popular (Protestant) hero.[5]
References
- ↑ Aubrey's Brief Lives ed. O L Dick. Secker & Warburg 1949 (earlier editions are said to have been bowdlerised)
- ↑ Naunton, Robert. Fragmenta Regalia: or Observations on the late Queen Elizabeth, her times and favourites. 1641
- ↑ Fuller, T. History of the Worthies of England. 1662
- ↑ Nicholls, M and Williams, P. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ↑ Hill, C. Intellectual Origins of the English Revolution. Oxford University Press. 1965