Walter Raleigh

Timeline

1. c. 1554–1560Devon · DevonBorn into a Devon coastal-defense gentry family, he was Gilbert's half-brother. His childhood was shaped by the turmoil of the Reformation, and in the southwestern coastal environment he developed a keen interest in seafaring and military affairs, foreshadowing his later colonial and exploratory career.
2. 1561–1570Oxford · OxfordshireAround 1569 he entered Oriel College, Oxford, receiving a humanist education while maintaining an interest in military and overseas affairs owing to his family's coastal-defense background. At this stage he had not yet entered the inner circle of the court, but gradually established an adventurous and enterprising outlook in England's religiously and politically divided society.
3. 1571–1618Americas · RoanokeAfter campaigning in Ireland in the 1580s, he entered Elizabeth's court, was knighted, and granted the Durham estate. He sponsored and participated in the Roanoke colonization project, undertook two expeditions to Guiana in search of El Dorado, and influenced court culture as both poet and favorite. He fell from favor after James I acceded and was executed in 1618 on old charges.