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TIMELINE
1554
1580
Ralegh’s rise and fall
1591
1603
1595
1617
1614
Ralegh serves under the Earl
of Essex at the sacking of the
Spanish port of Cádiz
At the succession of James I, Ralegh
is arrested and condemned to death
on a charge of treason. His life is
spared, but he remains a prisoner in
the Tower of London.
Walter Ralegh is born
at Hayes, near East
Budleigh, Devon
He marries Bess Throckmorton, one of
the queen’s ladies of the Privy Chamber.
Elizabeth I is enraged and has the new
Ralegh is knighted by Queen Elizabeth I, husband and wife thrown in the Tower
and continues to acquire lucrative
monopolies and other financial rewards
Ralegh publishes the first volume in
a projected history of the world
Ralegh searches,
unsuccessfully, for gold
and silver in Guiana (now
largely in Venezuela).
Claims the land for
Elizabeth I
Ralegh returns from Guiana
empty-handed, and is put to
death without a new trial on
the conviction of 1603 1618
1585
1596
Released from the Tower, Ralegh sails
again for Guiana, hoping to find the
treasure that will restore his fortunes
Ralegh assists in the slaughter of
600 Italian mercenaries and their
Irish followers at Smerwick, on
the Dingle peninsula, Ireland Bess Throckmorton,
whose marriage to Ralegh
infuriated the queen
Two pages from Ralegh’s History
of the World in Five Books, first
published in 1614
A 1596 painting of a sea action,
possibly the battle of Cádiz