Renaissance · South America · Exploration

1617

Raleigh's Last Voyage to Guiana

1617

Released from the Tower after thirteen years on a promise to find gold without fighting Spaniards, Sir Walter Raleigh sailed to the Orinoco and watched his son die in a reckless attack on a Spanish fort. He returned empty-handed, was arrested, and beheaded the following year on the original treason charge.