Raleigh's Journey In 1552-Spelled Ralegh

Raleigh (or also spelled Ralegh) was born in 1552 (specific date unknown). Raleigh was born in Devon, England at Hayes Barton, which was a place Raleigh's father had leased from the Duke family of Otterton. He had two half brothers from his mother's first marriage, and one brother and one sister from that current marriage. Before joining the Protestant army during the French religious war of 1569, Raleigh spent time attending Oriel College in Oxford, England, where he pursued his interest of seafaring. During the first five years of the war, Raleigh spent his time in France, where he successfully fought through two major battles and also the massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day, which began on August 24th, 1572, in which there were more than seventy thousand French Protestants slaughtered.
During 1576, Raleigh stayed in London as a lodger at the Middle Temple where he saw his poems in print.
His favorite poetic theme which was "the temporary state of all earthly things" was popular with other poets of the Renaissance, which was a time of great cultural change led by the works of great artists and writers. After two years in anonymity, Raleigh accompanied his half brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, on a voyage in search of a Northwest Passage to the Orient (Eastern Asia). The voyage quickly developed into a privatizing mission against the Spanish, where Raleigh hired out his ship to attack the Spanish. During their return in 1579, Raleigh and Gilbert faced the displeasure of the Privy Council, the advisors to the King. Raleigh's behavior did little to satisfy the council, and he was incarcerated twice in a period six months for disturbing the peace. Once out of jail, and at the head of a company of soldiers, he sailed to serve in the Irish wars. Raleigh is said to have planted the first potatoes in County Cork, Ireland at Youghal therefore introducing a nutritious food which was to have a major impact on Ireland's
future. In 1591, Raleigh secretly married Elizabeth Throckmorton, who was one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting, and eleven years younger than Raleigh himself, who was pregnant for the third time. When the unauthorized marriage was discovered the following year, the Queen ordered Raleigh to be imprisoned and Elizabeth dismissed from the court. It was several years before Raleigh returned to favor. The couple remained faithful to each other. During Raleigh's absences, she proved herself to be a capable manager of the family's fortunes and reputation. The couple had two sons, Walter and Carew. Raleigh became the Governor of Jersey between 1600 and 1603, becoming responsible for modernizing the defenses of the island. He named the new fortress protecting the approaches to Saint Helier "Fort Isabella Bellissima", known afterwards in English as Elizabeth Castle. Royal favor did not last, however. On November 17th, 1603, following the death of his wife, Raleigh went on trial for treason in the converted Great Hall of Winchester Castle for alleged involvement in the Main Plot. His involvement in the Main Plot seems to have been restricted to meeting with Henry Brooke, Lord Cobham and no more, but Raleigh was in disfavor at that point. He languished in the Tower of London until 1616. While imprisoned, he wrote a book about ancient history of Greece and Rome: "A Historie of the World", also known as "A History of the World." Raleigh was released from the Tower in 1616 to carry out a second voyage to the Orinoco in search of El Dorado, in the course of which his men, under the rule of Lawrence Keymis, captured the Spanish outpost of San Thome. Raleigh's son Walter was struck by a bullet and killed instantly in the initial attack on the town. On Raleigh's return to England, the irritated Spanish Ambassador demanded that King James re-establish Raleigh's death sentence. Raleigh was beheaded at Whitehall on October 29th, 1618. His last words after he was allowed to view the axe that was to take his life were "This is a sharp Medicine, but it is a Physician for all Diseases!" After Raleigh's execution, his head was embalmed and returned to his wife (name unknown). Some sources say on the day he was beheaded Raleigh was granted a last smoke of tobacco -- establishing the tradition of giving a prisoner a last cigarette before execution.