The diamonds and gemstones sought by Sir Walter Raleigh was all and more worthy of the highest compliments since he was stealing from the evil Spanish on the Spanish Main. Here winds would blow home the ships laden with diamonds, gemstones, gold, silver for the high living luxury enjoyed by the court of Spain.
This caused ruinous inflation in Spain, and the eventual downfall of Spain as the dominant power. But that would take centuries. And all this, with the slavery and misery of the native peoples from Mexico to Peru.Walter Raleigh as a lad from Devon felt that need to go down to the sea in ships, and so he did, in ways that inspire young English lads today.
Raleigh came from lower middle class, and even at that he was able to attend Oxford University, no mean feat. Here he would make high society level connections that would ease his eventual introduction into the new Court of the new queen, Elizabeth. First, he must, and did make marks of distinction. He was successful enough that he was soon in charge of his own ship.
And with a bribe here and nudge there, Raleigh was soon in private attendance with the vibrant new Queen, Elizabeth. He was soon collecting diamonds from Spanish ships, and felt he found a new land with a perfect climate for healthy lifestyles for new English settlements. Virginia he named it.
Raleigh had taken time away from diamond explorations and explored the west coast, to him, of the Atlantic from Spanish Florida up to frozen Maine, and found the greatest natural port for a mighty English speaking new nation. What we now know as Chesapeake Bay could contain a mighty naval armada in this still mild land.
He named this land Virginia. It was at the northern edge of growing the cotton plant he called silk weed, and another peculiar habit of the natives, tobacco. He famously introduced it to London, with a pipe filled and lit with tobacco, but that is another story,Raleigh on fire with his pipe; a pail of water thrown on him in London.
Raleigh could see a natural capitol of this new free land of English and the Virginia area and all towns of this gentle land for many years brought most English settlers: ancestral home of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are of this bay, and later became the central area of a new America.
Elizabeth took a fancy towards this handsome gallant. Raleigh was soon bestowed with honors, a knighthood,a manor house, and more. Raleigh returned these honors by returning often from the Spanish Main, the predictable wind path across the Atlantic all heavy Spanish galleons had to take on their route back to Spain.
A light fast ship with heavy cannon could easily overwhelm a slow moving huge galleon laden with riches. That was the route that had them laden with gold and silver from the slave mines of the South and Central America. And yet, as we say, between his rich raids on the Spanish, Raleigh found himself exploring the coastline north from Panama and the West Indies.
Florida was the end of the tropics, he noticed, and there were few good harbors north of St. Augustine, already there half a decade, built of coral and walls so thick they merely absorbed cannon balls. Up around the cape when flight would occur centuries later by English speaking brothers from Ohio, Raleigh came into an area that was still warm, not tropical but he was able to take home cotton plants he called silk plants.
But there was much more. Raleigh noticed that here on this middle Atlantic coast no power of Europe yet had control. They felt frozen off the coast of Maine and felt the French were welcome to anything north of there. They surveyed every bay and harbor down to Spanish Florida.
And Raleigh returned to the vast Chesapeake Bay and realized this was the perfect place to begin a mighty civilization: a huge armada could be safe from Atlantic storms, that would then be able to protect any great city or capital of an English speaking people inside this protection, in this mild climate. Nearby could be an academy for naval officers, able to train with the great armada that could be held here, and easily report to seniors.
Can you imagine Sir Walter Raleigh seeing this here then. This could be the most pleasant and mighty armada located in front of the great new Athens on a hill that could be created. And the new armada could be quickly out on the attack if needed, facing ever feudal Europe.
Raleigh named the south side of this great bay Virginia, where the cotton and tobacco grew.
Raleigh realized this area is perfect, and English speaking people can spread like the fingers of a mighty hand from here, until who knows, they reach the vast edges of the Pacific. Over there, English Captain Drake was finding also one mighty harbor. As Drake sailed into San Francisco Bay, he could only dream in 1580 that English would one day be spoken this far from England.
Then further English sailors would land on each continent, teach the locals the English football we call soccer. And even though each nation considers the football their game, that English would ever be spoken anywhere but in tiny Britain was somewhat in the future in 1580. They came for diamonds, but they left gemstones of ideals that are taking over the world.
And we think that is a diamond of an idea on how the world is lifting more people out of poverty than ever.