Raleigh was a famed English poet, explorer and privateer.
Raleigh spent 17 years in Ireland as a landlord of land and property confiscated from the Irish; also he was reported to have been responsible for the planting of the potato.
Raleigh was favoured by Queen Elizabeth I, he was believed to have laid his cloak over a puddle so that the Queen could walk over it without getting her feet wet. In 1585 he was knighted for his exploration of North America. Raleigh's link to the Canary Islands is that he would sail to La Gomera first to replenish supplies before heading west to the Indies.
During 1591, Raleigh secretly married Bess one of the Queen's ladies in waiting, a year later when Queen Elizabeth I, found out she had him imprisoned in the tower and dismissed Bess from court.
In 1594 Raleigh sailed to South America to find the city of gold, starting the legend of El Dorado.
In 1596 Raleigh was wounded in the capture of Cádiz.
After Queen Elizabeth died in 1603 Raleigh was imprisoned in the Tower again for treason, he was reportedly involved in a plot against James I, he was then released in 1616 for a second expedition to El Dorado.
When he returned back to England in 1618 he was arrested and beheaded at Whitehall. Apparently Sir Walter's final words as he waited for the axe to fall was "strike, man, strike!"
With the fall of Constantinople in 1453 the Europeans no longer had a safe passage over land to China and India, a valued source of goods such as silk and spices. Columbus was convinced that the passage was possible over the Atlantic sea, which covers around one fifth of the earth's surface.
Columbus had problems gaining financial support for his plan, he had calculated the distance from the Canary Islands to Japan as 3,700km but the westward voyage was more likely to be around 19,600km and sailors did not believe any ship at that time would be able to make this journey without dying of starvation and thirst. Columbus was very interested in the trade winds from the Canaries, where he had been wrong in calculating the degrees and distance he was to be proved right about the circular wind pattern in the Atlantic.
Drake was a hero to the British and a pirate to the Spanish, he was second in command at the Spanish Armada in 1588 and famous for sailing around the world. Knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1581. King Felipe II is rumoured to have issued a reward of 20,000 ducats (4 million pounds) for the life of El Draque.
Drake's hatred of the Spanish began 1569 when he was sailing with the Hawkins fleet from Plymouth when they were trapped in the Mexican port of San Juan de Ulua, Drake managed to escape with his cousins the Hawkins but was set on a lifelong revenge against the Spanish.
Drake was renowned for pirating around the Canaries, ideally situated for his travels between Europe and the Americas. King Felipe II ordered extra defences to be built to secure the port at Las Palmas and the castle Santa Barbara overlooking Teguise in Lanzarote.
Nelson served in the Royal Navy and was famous for his part in the Napoleonic Wars, and wounded in the battle of Santa Cruz in Tenerife during 1797.
The attack on Tenerife required an amphibious landing and the first attempt failed due to adverse currents and the surprise element was lost. Nelson tried again at night but the Spanish were better prepared than he had anticipated. Nelson had himself gone with one of the boats but he was hit in the right arm as he stepped ashore, he was taken back aboard the Theseus refusing help as he still had two legs and one arm! The surgeon decided that his arm had to be amputated. Troubridge had fought his way to the main square with another group but could go no further, as their boats had been sunk, he was forced to negotiate with the Spanish and it was agreed the British could withdraw. The fleet remained anchored off Tenerife for 3 days with a quarter of their force dead or wounded. The ships rejoined a fleet off Cadiz and then returned to England. Nelson was met with a hero's welcome even though the expedition had been a failure. He moved to London to seek expertise help concerning his amputated arm, he suffered with inflammation and poisoning but began to recover.
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