Raleigh, Sir Walter
Raleigh, Sir Walter (or Ralegh Sir Walter ) ( c. 1552 – 1618 )English explorer, courtier, and writer. A favourite of Elizabeth I , he organized several voyages of exploration and colonization to the Americas, including an unsuccessful attempt to settle Virginia ( 1584 – 89 ) and a journey up the Orinoco River in search of gold ( 1595 ); from his travels he brought back potato and tobacco plants to England. Raleigh was imprisoned in 1603 by James I on a charge of conspiracy, but released in 1616 to lead a second expedition up the Orinoco in search of the fabled land of El Dorado . He returned empty-handed after a clash with some Spanish...
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