Walter Rlegh Research Paper

Before the English venture of Roanoke, many Europeans had tested the waters of the New World. Whether it was to raid ships along the coast of the Newfoundland or establish colonies in the New World, several men had plans for exploration.

Elizabeth’s sea dogs were prompted to partake in piracy and attack the Spanish at sea. However, due to various dangers with Spanish warships and the Bahama Channel the privateers were not consistently successful (Horn 35). Ralegh recruited the “most remarkable men” for his All-Star exploration team. Among these men were; geography expert, John Dee and helmsman, Simon Fernandes (Horn 31-32). Walter Ralegh’s most valuable players were Simon Fernandes and John White, also known as Raleghs “eyes and ears” in the New World (Horn 32). Each of the men were skilled and extremely useful to Ralegh’s exploration of America. Not much is said about John Dee. Simon Fernandes is said to have a “checkered past” due to serving both the Spanish and Portuguese before travelling to England. Having been extremely knowledgeable, Ralegh saw Fernandes as an asset, although he was “first and

They insisted that White was the best qualified due to his close relationship with Ralegh (Horn 161). After arriving in England, White met with Ralegh to discuss a relief expedition to the colonist (Horn 169). However, White experienced multiple unfortunate events. Grenville’s relief ship had been set back multiple times which made White very worried (Horn 170) When the ship finally departed, its captain was not eager to arrive in Virginia. Instead, Facy constructed a sea-war against French warships (Horn 171). In addition to this event, England and Spain had begun a privateering war. Because White couldn’t fulfill his alleviated promise to the colonist, Ralegh granted trading privileges to the colonist (Horn