On this day in history: Sir Walter Raleigh beheaded, 1618
The Modern Historian (Free subscription) | 29/10/2009
Born in Devon in 1552 into a Protestant, Walter Raleigh served in Ireland during the suppression of the Desmond Rebellions between 1580 and 1581. He received forty-thousand acres of land seized from the Irish and became a major landlord in Munster. By this time Raleigh had embarked on a career at the royal court that resulted in him quickly becoming a favourite of Queen Elizabeth. Following...