On July 27, 1603, there was unusual activity at the Water Stairs, a pier in the Tower of London leading to the Traitor's Gate, through which all state criminals in England usually passed. Crowds of citizens were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Tower Commandant's boat, which was carrying Queen Elizabeth's former favorite, 52-year-old Walter Raleigh. A navigator who founded the first English colony in the New World - Virginia, a pirate, one of the main participants in the defeat of the Spanish "Invincible Armada", but at the same time a scientist and poet who headed the humanist circle in London, Raleigh gained wide fame. The story of Raleigh's fall, which led him to the scaffold, is one of the most dramatic episodes in the political struggle of the first quarter of the seventeenth century, i.e., at a time when the immediate prerequisites for the English bourgeois Revolution were already taking shape.

Why was there so much fuss about the Raleigh case? This is explained by the place of this figure in the conditions of the origin of capitalist relations. In England, a significant part of the fencing of peasant lands had already been carried out, bloody legislation against expropriated ones continued to operate, and capital was growing. Another external source of so-called initial accumulation was income from the unfolding colonial policy. The capture of" their " overseas colonies was combined with the robbery of others, primarily Spanish. England gradually ousted Spain and Portugal from the ocean expanses, attacked their foreign possessions. The British fleet was returning home with holds full of gold and silver that had previously been siphoned off by the Spaniards through the exploitation of the New World. Some invaders plundered others and at the same time joined in the colonial adventures themselves. "Such was the dawn of the capitalist era of production." 1 And Raleigh was one of the "heroes" of this epic. His pirate exploits under Queen Elizabeth made him a national idol in the eyes of the English bourgeoisie and the new nobility.

..It was the spring of 1603. Queen Elizabeth has just passed away, with the death of Co-

1 K. Marx and F. Engels Soch. Vol. 23, p. 760.

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the Torah ended the Tudor dynasty. King James of Scotland, the son of the "state criminal" Queen Mary Stuart, who was beheaded by Elizabeth in 1587, ascended to the throne. Many Englishmen were concerned about the question of what direction of foreign policy the new monarch would choose. Will he continue the popular anti-Spanish line in England, which was advocated by the court group headed by Raleigh, or will he change his orientation and move towards rapprochement with Spain, which the group headed by the Secretary of State of England R. Cecil and the influential Howard family persistently sought? James responded at the first sitting of Parliament, stating that the Anglo-Spanish wars were a personal feud between the sovereigns and ended with the death of Elizabeth. Attempts by Raleigh and his supporters to persuade the king to continue the war with Spain (during a court audience, Raleigh even suggested that the king organize a naval expedition against the Spaniards at his own expense) were unsuccessful. The subsequent disgrace of Raleigh (he was deprived of almost all public positions: captain of the King's guard, Lieutenant-general of the County of Cornwall, Governor of the island of Cornwall). Jersey)2 once again demonstrated the foreign policy line of the new monarch.

It was in this context that the plot was conceived, initiated by a friend of Raleigh's, the former governor of the southern ports, Lord Cobham, who belonged to the same group. Stripped of his former political clout and weight, he hoped to regain power through the enthronement of 18-year-old Lady Arabella Stewart, who had dynastic rights to the throne. Having initiated his younger brother D. Brook (Cecil's son-in-law) into the plans, he entered into contacts with the Austrian envoy Count Arenberg, who promised to provide financial support on condition that Arabella would be more inclined to Catholicism than to Protestantism .3 However, the Austrian envoy was soon recalled, and Cobham's plans would have remained generally unknown, if not for the case.

In May 1603, a group of Catholic priests, led by T. Watson and G. Clark, were arrested in London. During the preliminary investigation, it turned out that they intended to gather the Catholic nobility near London and, during the king's journey to Windsor, submit a petition to him asking for the restoration of Catholicism in the country. However, this plan was met coldly by both the Catholic nobility and a number of opposition nobles, in particular Lord Gray, whom they initiated into their plans. Only a few people were involved in the plot, including the aforementioned Brooke. 4 From the confession of his brother-in-law, Cecil learned of Cobham's plans for Arabella Stewart. At the preliminary investigation, the name of Raleigh, whom the conspirators also intended to tell about their plans, then came up. Given Raleigh's well-known negative attitude towards James's dynastic rights, as well as his closeness to Cobham, Raleigh was suspected.

Cecil, a master of political intrigue, decided to use these stillborn plots to deal with his opponents in one blow. The Secretary of State tried to discredit Raleigh in the eyes of Cobham, who was a narrow-minded and cowardly man. At Cecil's instigation, Cobham's wife, during a meeting with her husband, stated that " Raleigh at court insists on the death penalty for Lord Cobham for his crime." Cobham then stated that"Raleigh also deserves to be punished, as he not only knew about his plans, but also shared them." 5
On July 19, Raleigh, who had been invited by the King to go hunting in Windsor, was arrested and taken to the Tower of London. During his life of dangerous adventures, he had already been there: there he was imprisoned in 1592 by order of Queen Elizabeth for "seducing" one of her ladies-in-waiting, B. Throckmorton. Forced to choose between prison and marriage, Raleigh chose the latter and left the dungeon a week later, although he had lost the favor of the royal mistress. This time the accusation was more serious: "In the most terrible crime committed in England since the time of William the Conqueror," as the crown prosecutor E. Kok assessed him, " in plotting to depose King James, exterminate the royal family, raise A. Stewart to the throne, change the religion- ___

2 Stuart Royal Proclamations. Vol. 1. Oxford. 1973, pp. 46, 62.

3 Stow J. Annales, or a General Chronicle of England. Lnd. 1631, pp. 819 - 820.

4 State Trials. Vol. 2. Lnd. 1817, p. 145.

5 Lacey E. Sir Walter Raleigh. Lnd. 1973, p. 124.

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gii and the entry of foreign troops into the kingdom " 6 . Raleigh was to appear before the court of the "king's bench" - a commission of 11 people appointed by the king, most of whom were his personal enemies. Realizing what was waiting for him, and "not wanting to give his enemies a chance to triumph,"7 Raleigh tried to commit suicide, but failed. This circumstance was also used by Cecil to discredit the defendant in the eyes of society: after all, suicide is an indirect admission of guilt.

On November 17, the trial began in Winchester under the chairmanship of Chief Justice R. Pomham. The prosecution relied on Cobham's pre-trial testimony. These statements were not very definite: he alternated between confirming and denying Raleigh's involvement in the plot. Raleigh's demands to subpoena Cobham were rejected .8 According to contemporaries, "Raleigh defended himself in court quite intelligently and skilfully." 9 He stated that "he will only plead guilty if Lord Cobham repeats his charges at the trial." 10
According to Cobham's testimony, Raleigh, during a meeting with him at a country house, agreed to receive from the Austrian envoy 600 thousand crowns ( 150 thousand pounds) - an amount equal to the then state budget of England, to organize a conspiracy in favor of Arabella Stewart .11 Without denying the fact of the meeting with Cobham, Raleigh testified that it took place before the arrival of the Austrian envoy and was devoted to the discussion of state affairs: "Lord Cobham offered me an annual pension of £ 1,500 from the Spanish government on condition that I would seek to conclude peace with Spain, and not to organize a conspiracy in favor of Lady Arabella. However, I did not take Lord Cobham's words seriously. 12 Raleigh's trump card was Cobham's letter, which he passed on to him in the Tower through one of his jailers. In it, Cobham admitted that he had "slandered Raleigh" and "never told Sir Walter about his plans." 13
This letter, dismissing the accusation, caused a stir. The Crown Prosecutor requested that the meeting be adjourned to determine the authenticity of the document. After an expert examination confirmed the identity of Cobham's handwriting, the prosecution stated that "Raleigh forced Cobham to write this letter." 14 Neither Ralegh nor the judges knew that Cobham had written another letter, also exonerating Ralegh, which he passed on to the Governor of the Tower, W. W. Smith. Wada. Wad informed Cecil of its existence after the trial 15 . The outcome of the trial was a foregone conclusion. Raleigh was unanimously sentenced to "be hanged, quartered, and disemboweled." 16
This decision caused sharp dissatisfaction among many people of the " new era "both in England and abroad. 17 Few people believed that Raleigh, an implacable opponent of Spain, could have taken part in a conspiracy whose reality had not been proven. "At present, no one is more popular in England than Sir Raleigh, who has English public opinion on his side," the French ambassador reported to Paris. "The people who hurled curses at him now enthusiastically welcome him as a hero and an idol." 18 The anxious governor of the Tower reported to Cecil: "Hundreds of Londoners have been crowding the wharf since morning to see Raleigh walking on the wall." 19
Raleigh's friends at court, acting through Queen Anne and Prince Henry, who were sympathetic to the prisoner, were working for his release. In the same direction, some foreign courts, adhering to the anti-Spanish orientation, acted. The King of Denmark, a cousin of the Queen of England, asked James to release Ralegh, "who has done so much for the good of England." The French ambassador conveyed to the English court the official proposal of the Prince de Rohan "to let Raleigh go abroad to France, where he will be given the post of admiral."

6 State Trials, p. 147.

7 Notes on the Diplomatic Relations of England and France, 1603 - 1688. Vol. 1. Oxford. 1906, p. 244.

8 State Trials, p. 153.

9 The Chamberlain Letters. N. Y. 1965, p. 186.

10 State Trials, p. 159.

11 Ibid., p. 161.

12 Ibid., p. 168.

13 Ibid., p. 169.

14 Ibid., p. 172.

15 Edwards E. The Life of Sir Walter Raleigh. Vol. 2. Lnd. 1868, p. 214.

16 State Trials, p. 184.

17 Calendar of State Papers. Domestic Series. Vol. 2. Lnd. 1859, p. 242.

18 Notes on the Diplomatic Relations. Vol. 1, p. 187.

19 Calendar, p. 264.

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any French squadron " 20 . W. Shakespeare joined this campaign. On his initiative, the play "Measure for Measure" was played in front of the royal court in Wilton, in which, in particular, the following appeal was made: "Neither the scepter for the king, nor the sword for the governor, nor the baton for the marshal go as well as mercy." On December 7, James signed a pardon for Cobham and Gray, who were also sentenced to death, and they were already informed of the pardon on the scaffold. Only members of the "pater conspiracy" T. Watson, G. Clark and D. Brooke were executed. Raleigh's death sentence was deferred, but not overturned, and he remained in the Tower "until further notice from the king." 21
At first, few people believed that Raleigh's imprisonment would last. There were rumours in London of his imminent release. And Raleigh's time in the Tower was not much like a prison sentence: He was given a large apartment at the top of the Blood Tower, where he stayed with his wife, son,and three servants, and he did not lack for company. Among the people who visited Raleigh, one could meet famous scientists of that time in England: the philosopher F. Bacon, the astronomer T. Harriot, the poet D. Selden, the playwright B. Johnson. Crown Prince Henry often visited, listening for hours to Raleigh's stories of naval expeditions and wars. Raleigh was assigned a garden house for his research, which he turned into a chemical laboratory. There Raleigh began to work on his main work - "World History".

Time passed, but the government did not think to release Raleigh, and the conclusion of peace between England and Spain in July 1604 finally buried the hope of liberation. Given the unpopularity of the treaty (it did not guarantee the rights of English trade in the Spanish colonies), as well as anti-Spanish sentiment in the country, James's ministers, who received large Spanish pensions, were interested in having the leaders of the anti-Spanish opposition, primarily the Raleigh, imprisoned. According to the French Ambassador de Sully, "the conclusion of Raleigh should have been the key to the Anglo-Spanish alliance." 22 But even Raleigh, who was being held in the Tower, seemed dangerous to the authorities. His essays on the Marriage between Prince Henry of England and the Daughter of the House of Savoy, and on the Marriage between Princess Elizabeth and the Prince of Piedmont, which were written in the fortress, were widely circulated, increasing anti-Spanish sentiment. Henry and Elizabeth, to whom these works were dedicated, made no secret of the fact that they shared Raleigh's views. The prince's expression, which he said after one of his meetings with Raleigh, "No one but my father would have kept such a bird in a cage,"spread throughout the capital .23
After the discovery of the so-called Gunpowder Plot in the spring of 1605, the regime of Raleigh's imprisonment was tightened: he was transferred to a small, poorly heated room, banned from walking and contact with the outside world. Lady Raleigh and her son were removed. Raleigh's remaining estates were soon confiscated, and his patents for the wine monopoly and colonization of the North American coast, granted to him by Queen Elizabeth, were revoked . Nevertheless, the years of imprisonment did not break his spirit. Raleigh continued his literary and scientific activities. He did not give up the idea of new sea voyages, dreaming of finding the fairyland of El Dorado. On several occasions, the distinguished pirate appealed to various statesmen, promising to bring "tons of gold and silver if he was allowed to organize an expedition to Guiana," 25 where, as he assumed, El Dorado was located.

A ray of hope shone in 1616. After the deaths of Cecil and Howard, the influence of an anti-Spanish group increased at court, one of whose leaders, R. Winwood, became Secretary of State. Given the deplorable state of finances, the new faces stepped up efforts to free Raleigh and organize an expedition to Guiana, tempting King James with "an easy opportunity to replenish the treasury" .26 In January 1617, Raleigh was imprisoned for 13 years

20 Notes on the Diplomatic Relations. Vol. 1, pp. 269 - 270

21 State Trials, p. 201

22 Notes on the Diplomatic Relations. Vol. 1, p. 283.

23 Calendar, p. 249.

24 Constitutional Documents of the Reign of James I. Cambridge. 1961, p. 189.

25 Raleigh W. The Works. Vol. 2. Lnd. 1751, p. 246.

26 Calendar. Vol. 3, p. 147.

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he was released and received permission to organize an expedition. James demanded a fifth of the spoils of war from Raleigh , but the death sentence that weighed heavily on him was not lifted. With unlimited powers as the expedition's lieutenant general, with the right to "execute and pardon both on land and at sea,"28 Raleigh himself remained under threat of death.

The British preparations for a new expedition caused great concern in Madrid. Unable to prevent its organization, the Spanish ambassador, Count Godomar, obtained from James accurate information about the number of ships, the time of their departure, the route and the promise that "in the event of the destruction of the territories belonging to the Spanish crown by Ralegh, and the murder of Spanish subjects, he will immediately be sent to Madrid for execution" 29 . But Raleigh was not discouraged. "Winners are not judged," he said in a confidential conversation with Lord Chancellor F. And people will think I'm crazy if I meet the Spanish silver fleet and don't capture it. " 30
On July 24, 1617, the ex-convict sailed from Plymouth on the flagship Hope. However, his expedition ended in failure. Unable to find any gold mines, the British burned down the Spanish settlement of Saint Thomas. Raleigh's eldest son, White, was killed in the assault on the fort. The attempt to ambush the silver Fleet was also unsuccessful. Raleigh turned back and returned to Plymouth on May 26, 1618. The attack on the Spanish fort sparked outrage in Madrid. The Spanish ambassador, who arrived in London, demanded that James fulfill his promise regarding Raleigh, threatening otherwise to break off negotiations for a marriage between the heir to the throne, Prince Charles, and the Spanish infanta. Yakov had already signed a decree on Raleigh's arrest in early June. But no practical measures have been taken yet. For almost two months Raleigh remained in Plymouth without hindrance, being able to escape from England, as his friends had recommended. The suspicious slowness of the government suggests that it was hoping that Raleigh would leave England. This idea did not seem strange to many contemporaries .32
Raleigh hesitated and only at the beginning of August agreed to the proposal of the French ambassador de La Clare to flee .33 But it was too late, because the escape plan was issued to the authorities, and on August 8, Raleigh was arrested. On August 10, for the third and last time, he crossed the threshold of the Tower of London. By order of the King, who feared a repetition of the "sad experience of the Winchester trial of 1604", the Privy Council decided:: "To bring Sir Walter Raleigh to the secret trial of a special commission of six men." 34 The second trial, which began on October 28, lasted two hours. In an effort to bring Raleigh under the article of high treason, the judges accused him of "seeking to destroy the Anglo-Spanish alliance, relations with the French king and hostile actions towards Spain." 35 Despite Raleigh's objections that Guiana was not a Spanish territory, and that the conflict in Saint Thomas was provoked by a Spanish garrison attacking English soldiers, the court sentenced Raleigh to death. 36 On 29 October, Yakov approved the sentence, but commuted "hanging, quartering and disemboweling" to beheading .37On November 2, 1618, Raleigh was beheaded in the old courtyard of Westminster.

This execution, carried out in favor of the Anglo-Spanish alliance, had far-reaching political consequences: it helped to strengthen the opposition of the new nobility and bourgeoisie to the Stuart absolutism and became one of the elements in the circle of causes that then caused a political crisis on the eve of the English bourgeois Revolution.

27 Gardiner A. Documents relating to Raleigh's Last Voyage. Lnd. 1948, p. 43.

28 Ibid., p. 47.

29 Ibid., p. 49.

30 Edwards E. Op. cit., p. 298.

31 Fray Е. Narrative of the Spanish Marriage Treaty. Lnd. 1869, p. 212.

32 Calendar, p. 347.

33 Notes on the Diplomatic Relations. Vol. 1, p. 397.

34 His Majesty's Reasons for His Proceedings against Sir Walter Raleigh, 1618. Lnd. 1809, p. 422.

35 The Proceedings against Sir Walter Raleigh at the King's Benchbar in Westminster, 1618. Lnd. 1809, p. 439.

36 Ibid., p. 443.

37 Ibid., p. 444.

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