Sir Walter Raleigh beheaded

1618 London, England: In the Old Palace Yard of Westminster, just by the Tower of London where he had been held, English adventurer, writer, and courtier Sir Walter Raleigh was executed by beheading. His crime: an alleged conspiracy against James I of England.

In 1595, Raleigh had sailed up the Orinoco River, and, in 1617, he was released from prison in England in order to explore the Guianas, all in search of El Dorado, the legendary South American 'Golden Man', who was supposed to rule a civilization fabulously wealthy in gold. Unfortunately, his failure to set up Guiana for English exploitation did his cause no good at home, and he paid with his life.
At his execution Raleigh requested to see the axe that was to do him in and remarked, "This is a sharp Medicine, but it is a Physician for all Diseases" ...

Categories: uk, history, british-history, capital-punishment, death-penalty