Raleigh hated Catholicism and was very vocal about it before a very Protestant Queen Elizabeth I. We can say that Raleigh was accumulating brownie points with the Queen. The Queen became enamored of Raleigh and in fact, made him one of her court favorites. The story goes that Raleigh once laid his expensive cloak over a puddle the queen was to walk over. He just couldn’t let her feet get wet. But this is just a story, which may very well be a Victorian fable.

During Elizabeth’s reign, Raleigh made the mistake of falling in love and secretly marrying one of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting, Throckmorton “Bess,” who was was eleven years younger than him. Raleigh was imprisoned. It took several years for the scandal to simmer down and for Raleigh to regain favor at court. But Raleigh and Bess remained together, devoted, and had two children, Walter and Carew.

Sir Walter Raleigh & son Walter

When Elizabeth died in 1603 Raleigh was implicated in a plot to overthrow the new king, James I. Raleigh was tried for treason, & imprisoned in the Tower of London until 1616. It is during this time he writes, The Historie of the World, a book about ancient Greece and Rome. When released, he led an expedition to South America to find the lost city of El Dorado. In this expedition he attacked the Spanish settlement at San Thome, and in this battle his son Walter is killed.

As if the death of his son was not enough punishment, the Spanish Ambassador convinces James I to reinstate Raleigh’s death sentence. Raleigh is beheaded at Whitehall on October 29, 1618. Before putting his head on the block, he asked to see the ax, and looking at it said, “This is a sharp medicine, but it is a physician for all diseases.” His devoted Bess, still grieving the death of her son, Walter, must now grieve her husband. She had his head embalmed and kept it in a red leather bag, by her side, all the time. And according to a biography written on Raleigh, “Shepherd of the Ocean,” by J. H. Adamson, & H. F. Holland, Bess was in the habit of “frequently inquiring of visitors if they would like to see Sir Walter.”

Bess died twenty-nine years later at age eighty two, and Raleigh’s head was inherited by his son, Carew, who kept it until his death. On January 1, 1668 Carew was buried with the head, alongside the body of Raleigh. It had taken fifty years for Raleigh’s head to finely rest.

sources: Wikipedia,

http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/sir-walter-raleigh.htm

Curious Events in History, Michael Powell, Sir Walter Raleigh, by Frederick Albion Ober

In 1612 Pocahontas was taken captive by the Englishmen. She asked about John Smith and was told he had died. She was told this lie by John Rolfe who unbeknownst to her wanted her for himself. And in 1614 John Rolfe married her, she learned English, and was given the Christian name of Rebecca. In 1616 she accompanied her husband to England and it is here she finds out that John Smith is in fact alive, is married and has several children. Her husband John lied to her.  John Smith went to see Rebecca and according to a note in his journal, it was a quick visit, and Rebecca was not well. He said: “After a modest salutation, without any word, she turned about, obscured her face as not seeming well contented and in that humor…we all left her…”

The day she, her son and husband were going to return to America, at the age of 21, Rebecca lapsed into a coma and died. But what killed her? Was it a broken heart? Did her husband speak the truth when he said Rebecca developed a fever the same day of her departure? Or was she murdered by a husband who became consumed with jealously? We will never know. The answer lies in an unmarked grave in St. George Church cemetery, located some twenty miles east of London.

In 1625 the fortress town of New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island was founded by Wilem Verhulst, director of the Dutch West India Company. This making Manhattan Island the first permanent European settlement in what we now know as part of New York City, or as I call it, the heart of New York City. In 1626 Verhulst’s successor bought the Island from the Lenape for 60 guilders worth of goods. The value of these goods equaled $24.00, which in today’s currency works out to about $500-$700 dollars!

Now, bear in mind, the Lenape people had no concept of  land ownership. As far as they were concerned land could not be owned by anyone. Land, in their mind was like water, and air, there for all to partake in, freely. They saw the goods as a gesture of appreciation to them for sharing the land with the Europeans. They lived in peace for a little while. When the Lenape people later wanted the land back, the settlers built a wall to keep them out. That wall later became what we know as Wall Street where the New York Stock Exchange stands today. Think about that when you visit Wall Street next time.

Soon the girls exhibited odd behavior at home. They’d kicked and screamed, had fainting spells, spoke to apparitions, and complained of being bitten, and strangled by unseen hands. The more attention their families gave them, the more bizarre the outbursts. Just like a teenager… Soon the families and church became concerned and the only explanation they had for this was…it’s the devil’s work, and it must be stopped. After being questioned by their families and the church elders, the girls claimed that “witches” were the cause. The church leaders went on the hunt for the witches. They identified who they thought was a witch, most of which were elderly women. The poor women didn’t stand a chance…they all were tried (if you want to call it a trial) and hanged. In all, 20 women were hanged. These hunts and hangings went on for 2 years. The frenzy in these hunts was so bad that soon dogs were being accused of witchcraft. Two poor dogs were found guilty of witchcraft and were hanged.

How did this travesty happen? What motivated these young girls to do such a thing? The answer may lie in drugs. Some historians believe that the problem was Ergotism. Ergot is a fungus which grows in moldy grain and contains a mind-altering drug. Ergotism outbreaks, which affected entire regions, were common in Europe during the middle ages. But little was known of Ergot’s hallucinogenic effects in 17^th century America. Today, ergot is used in drugs that help those with migraine headaches. If ergot is taken in its pure state, it becomes a powerful hallucinogenic. It is known to also cause disorientation, and even death.

The theory is that Tituba knew about the powerful drug in ergot, and introduced the young girls to the drug. Since Tituba knew a lot about sorcery, and voo-doo, it is speculated that she also knew of toxins, their sources, and effects. Historians believe that the girls were introduced to the grain and that they continued to consume it in greater quantities on their own. This can very well explain their bizarre behavior. Can we say that Tituba was also responsible for the 20 innocent women who were hanged? I believe that Tituba was playing with fire when she dabbled with the dark world and the drug world as well.  I don’t think she ever expected what happened. But 20 innocent women paid the price nonetheless.