Fifteen Years at His Majesty's Pleasure: The Relationship of King James I of England and His Prisoner, Sir Walter Ralegh

Abstract

Sir Walter Ralegh, renowned Elizabethan gentleman, explorer, and courtier, would experience a radical change of fortune when James VI of Scotland became King of England. In 1603 Ralegh found himself implicated in a treasonous plot that resulted in a commuted death sentence that left him at the mercy of King James for fifteen years. This study uses the dramatic example of the relationship between King James and Sir Walter Ralegh to investigate the politics of the early Stuart court and examine the impact of individuals on government actions. Specifically, this thesis seeks to answer the following questions: What was the relationship between Sir Walter Ralegh and King James and for what ultimate purpose would James finally execute Ralegh after such a lengthy imprisonment in the Tower? Examination and analysis of letters written by King James, Sir Walter Ralegh, and their contemporaries shows that the relationship between King and courtier lacked the access and personal connection Ralegh had previously enjoyed under Queen Elizabeth. King James was warned away from Ralegh by his advisors and Ralegh’s enemies at court and Ralegh understood that he would struggle to gain the King’s trust while their relationship remained distant and impersonal. Increasingly a voice of dissent against James’s foreign policy, Ralegh would eventually secure his release from the Tower under a precarious commission to mine gold in Guiana, which promised a much-needed windfall for the Exchequer. Failure in this commission and scuffles with Spanish settlers prompted King James to execute Ralegh in order to lessen his own culpability in authorizing a commission that, if successful, he knew would have alienated him from Spain and his dreams of European peace.