12 - Raleigh And Virginia

Question 1

What were the aims of Sir Walter Raleigh?

Answer 1

• Sir Walter Raleigh was responsible for planning, organising and financing two voyages that sailed in his name in 1585 and 1587, in order to establish English colonies in America - he would name the location ‘Virginia’, after the Queen. Raleigh did not go on the voyages himself

The advantages of establishing a colony in North America:
- To have a base to attack Spanish interests in the area and to launch raids on the Spanish West Indies
- To prevent the Spanish and French from settling there
- To provide the prospect of better life for the poor living in England
- To gain access to rich local resources
- To add to the territories under the British Crown

Question 2

Why was the 1585 Voyage unsuccessful?

Answer 2

• In 1585, Ralph Lane and Sir Richard Grenville sailed to America to settle on the Roanoke Islands (Raleigh could not go because he was needed in court). Grenville returned to England to get more suppliers and settlers, leaving the garrison on the island
• However, relations with the local native population were hostile, and because the garrison of 108 men relied on the Local Secotans for food, Ralph Lane and his men were forced to abandon the island and jump aboard Sir Francis Drake’s ships.

Question 3

Why was Raleigh’s 1587 voyage unsuccessful?

Answer 3

• Raleigh’s second expedition in 1587 took settler families rather than soldiers, and his aim was to sail further north of the Roanoke Islands to Chesapeake Bay, which had a better harbour, but bad weather meant the settlers had to stay in the Roanoke islands again, and attempt to set up a second colony.
• Relations with the Native Americans were still not good, and it was too late in the year to plant seeds. John White, the lead sailor, returned to England for more supplies and settlers but was delayed due to the Spanish Armada.
• When White returned in 1590, the settlers had disappeared and White could not track them down - they became known as the Lost Colony.

Question 4

Why did Raleigh’s voyages fail?

Answer 4

• Starvation
• Colonists depended on the Native Americans for food
• Food supplies did not survive the journey
• Seeds were sown at the wrong time of the year
• Lack of a good harbour
• Disease
• Failure of ships to return from England with supplies and men
• Relations with the Native Americans

Question 5

What did Raleigh ultimately achieve with his voyages in 1585 and 1587?

Answer 5

• He laid the foundations for the eventual colonisation of America
• Returned a profit due to capturing Spanish ships
• Excited merchants with examples of good trade, including the potato
• Increased knowledge of North America, through increased navigational knowledge, books from Raleigh’s assistant (Thomas Hariot, who went on the 1585 voyage) and paintings from John White who had been hired to record the expedition.