Sir Walter Raleigh was an English officer in the army, writer, traveler, and politician who lived from about 1552 to October 29, 1618. He was one of the most important people in Elizabethan times. He helped England colonize North America, put down rebellions in Ireland, defended England against the Spanish Armada, and served in politics under Elizabeth I.Walter Raleigh and Catherine Champernowne had a Protestant family with land. Raleigh was born in Devon into this family. He was Sir Humphrey Gilbert's younger half-brother and Sir Richard Grenville's cousin. Not much is known about his early life, but he did fight in the Christian civil wars in France when he was in his late teens. In his 20s, he helped put down an uprising in Ireland when it was being colonized, and he also took part in the siege of Smerwick. He later rented out homes in Ireland and was mayor of Youghal in East Munster. His house in Myrtle Grove is still there today. He quickly won Queen Elizabeth I's favor, and in 1585 he was made a knight.
