Walter Raleigh and the Main Plot are inextricably linked to one of the most tumultuous periods of early 17th-century England. Once a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, celebrated as a poet, explorer, and soldier, Raleigh’s fortunes changed dramatically under the reign of King James I. The so-called Main Plot—a murky conspiracy to overthrow James and replace him with his cousin, Arbella Stuart—ensnared Raleigh, leading to his arrest, trial, and eventual imprisonment.
While evidence against Raleigh was tenuous at best, his association with alleged conspirators and his history of bold ambition made him an easy scapegoat in a court rife with paranoia. This dramatic chapter in Raleigh’s life marked the beginning of his tragic fall from grace, cementing his legacy as both a symbol of the Elizabethan Golden Age and a cautionary tale of ambition in a shifting political landscape.
 Transcript of Episode 269: Walter Raleigh and the Main Plot: Treason, Trial, and Tower Life:
This is episode 269, I think, and we’re going to talk about Walter Raleigh and the Main Plot today which I have never covered before, and it’s about time. We are going to get right into this plot that was the downfall of Walter Raleigh. We’re going to talk about Walter Raleigh a little bit, who he was, and how he got involved in the Main Plot.
Walter Raleigh was the kind of guy who seemed untouchable. In Elizabeth’s court, he was a favorite, he was a poet, explorer, soldier, and someone who always seemed to be at the center of something big. Whether it was planting colonies in the Americas, defeating the Spanish Armada, or charming Elizabeth herself, Raleigh had carved out a life that made him one of the most famous men of his day.
Introduction to Walter Raleigh and the Main Plot
But fame is a double edged sword, and when James I took the throne in 1603, Raleigh found himself on the wrong side of the king’s favor. This is the story of how Raleigh got caught up in one of the strangest political conspiracies of the early 17th century, the so called Main Plot. It’s a tangled web of ambition, paranoia, and fragile alliances that ultimately led to Raleigh’s imprisonment, trial, and eventual downfall.
But to understand how a man like Walter Raleigh ended up accused of treason, we first need to look at who he was and why his star had already begun to dim by the time the plot unfolded.
Walter Raleigh was born in Devon in 1552, the youngest of five brothers. His family had a strong Protestant faith, which shaped much of Raleigh’s career. In a time when religion was inseparable from politics, being a Protestant meant loyalty to Queen Elizabeth and a deep suspicion of Catholic powers like Spain. Raleigh’s loyalty paid off. He served as a soldier in the brutal campaigns in Ireland where his ruthlessness gained him a reputation as someone who could get the job done no matter how messy it was.
In the 1580s, Raleigh had become one of Elizabeth’s favorites. He was dashing, ambitious, and endlessly resourceful. The Queen rewarded him with a knighthood, land, and lucrative trade monopolies. Raleigh used this wealth to fund expeditions to the New World, including the ill fated attempt to establish a colony at Roanoke. Even though the colony disappeared without a trace, Raleigh’s efforts cemented his image as a bold adventurer and defender of England’s interests against the Spanish expansion.
Raleigh’s Fall from Grace
But Raleigh’s term had its limits. In 1592, he secretly married one of Elizabeth’s ladies in waiting, Bess Throckmorton. Without the Queen’s permission, that was a no. Elizabeth was famously possessive of her favorites, and she was furious. Both Raleigh and his wife were briefly imprisoned in the Tower of London, and though he eventually regained some favor, the relationship between Raleigh and the Queen was never quite the same.
When Elizabeth died in 1603, Raleigh’s position became precarious. The new king, James I, didn’t trust him. James was a Scottish king inheriting an English throne and he wanted peace with Spain, not conflict. Raleigh’s Protestant zeal, his involvement in anti Spanish policies, and his history of intrigue made him an outsider in James’s court. It didn’t help that Raleigh was arrogant and unpopular among many of the king’s closest advisors.
By the time James I took the throne, England was a powder keg. Catholics, who had suffered under Elizabeth’s strict laws, hoped that James would be more tolerant. Protestants, however, were wary of any sign that James might bend toward Catholicism. Meanwhile, nobles jockeyed for influence in the new regime, with resentment simmering among those who felt left out.
The Main Plot Unfolds
It was in this tense atmosphere that the whispers of treason began to circulate. The Main Plot was a scheme to remove James from the throne and replace him with his cousin Arbella Stewart. While the details were murky, the alleged conspirators included Lord Cobham, Raleigh’s longtime associate, and a handful of other nobles.
Cobham was supposedly seeking Spanish money to fund the plot. Which definitely raised alarm bells at court. Spain had long been England’s greatest enemy and even the suggestion of collusion with the Spanish crown was enough to bring the full weight of the law down on anyone involved. So what exactly was the Main Plot?
Honestly, it’s a tricky question because even at the time it was hard to pin down. What we know is this. The plot was allegedly masterminded by Henry Brooke, Lord Cobham, with a vague plan to overthrow King James I. The idea was to replace James with his cousin Arbella Stewart, a descendant of Henry VII, who had a claim to the throne.
Arbella, who was reportedly oblivious to the whole thing, was seen as a safer bet by some discontented nobles. Someone who might be more open to Catholic tolerance or at least less reliant on Scottish advisers, whom many English courtiers deeply resented. The plan, if you can even call it that, hinged on getting financial support from Spain.
Cobham was supposedly going to travel to Brussels, meet with the Spanish ambassador, and secure 600, 000 crowns to fund the conspiracy, such as it was. What they would actually do with that money was anyone’s guess. The plotters seemed long on ambition but short on specifics, and this is where Walter Raleigh comes into the picture.
Raleigh’s Arrest and Trial
Raleigh’s connection with the plot was tenuous at best, but that didn’t matter once suspicion started swirling. Cobham was one of Raleigh’s closest allies, and the two had a complicated friendship marked by both loyalty and rivalry. When Cobham was arrested and questioned, he cracked under pressure. He claimed that Raleigh had encouraged him to seek Spanish support and had even received a letter detailing the plan.
Cobham’s testimony was shaky and inconsistent, but it was enough to implicate Raleigh in the eyes of the King’s investigators. Raleigh was arrested in July 1603 and sent to the Tower of London. For a man like Walter Raleigh, whose life had been defined by action and adventure. Imprisonment must have been agonizing.
But worse was yet to come. The trial, held in November 1603 at Winchester Castle, was less about uncovering the truth and more about setting an example. The prosecution was led by Attorney General Sir Edward Cook, who pulled no punches. Cook accused Raleigh of being a monster and comparing him to Cain and Judas.
He painted Raleigh as a treacherous schemer, willing to betray his country for personal gain. The problem was the evidence was thin, there were no letters from Raleigh, no direct proof tying him to the plot, and Cobham himself had recanted his accusations multiple times. Raleigh, for his part, put up a spirited defense.
He argued that Cobham’s testimony was unreliable and pointed out the lack of concrete evidence. In one memorable moment, Raleigh called out the absurdity on relying on hearsay. Do you condemn a man based on bare suspicions? The proof of the pudding is in the eating. It was a dramatic and clever line, but it wasn’t enough to save him.
The jury deliberated only 15 minutes before finding Raleigh guilty of treason. The sentence was death by hanging, drawing, and quartering, a brutal punishment reserved for the worst crimes. Raleigh wasn’t the only one caught in the fallout of the Main Plot. Lord Cobham, along with several others, including Lord Grey of Wilton and Sir Griffin Markham were also found guilty of treason.
Initially, they were all sentenced to death, but in a dramatic twist, James commuted most of their sentences. Cobham and Gray were imprisoned while Markham was exiled. As for Raleigh, he was spared immediate execution. James likely saw value in keeping such a skilled man alive, even if only as a political pawn.
Life in the Tower
Raleigh was sent back to the Tower, where he remained for 13 long years. If there’s one thing Walter Raleigh couldn’t do, it was sit still. Even locked away in the Tower of London, he found ways to make himself useful, or at least distract himself. For one, Raleigh turned to writing, pouring his relentless energy into a colossal project, The History of the World.
It wasn’t just any history book. Raleigh covered everything from the creation of the world to the Roman Empire, weaving in his own observations on politics, power, and the human condition. It was ambitious, brilliant, and deeply cynical. Probably a reflection of Raleigh’s own bitterness about his fall from grace.
But Raleigh wasn’t just scribbling away in a dark cell. He also dabbled in science, conducting experiments, and cultivating a small garden. Yes, Walter Raleigh had a garden, and in fact, the Tower that he was kept in was actually called the Garden Tower because of that. There’s even a legend that Raleigh discovered how to distill fresh water from seawater during this time, which came in handy later when he was released for one last expedition.
The Final Expedition and Execution
After thirteen years in the Tower, Raleigh was given a second chance, or so it seemed. In 1616, James I released him to lead an expedition to South America in search of El Dorado, the mythical City of Gold. It was a gamble for both Raleigh and the King. For Raleigh, it was a chance to redeem himself and prove his worth.
For James, it was an opportunity to gain wealth without much risk. If Raleigh succeeded, great. If not, he was expendable. The expedition was a disaster. Raleigh’s men clashed with the Spanish, violating James peace treaty with Spain. To make matters worse, Raleigh’s son, Watt, was killed in one of these skirmishes.
Raleigh returned to England empty handed, knowing he had sealed his fate. I don’t know why he even went back. He should have just kept his ship and stayed in South America or something, but anyway, he went back. By 1618, Raleigh’s enemies had their chance to finish him off. The Spanish ambassador demanded justice for Raleigh’s attack on their settlement, and James, eager to maintain good relations with Spain, obliged.
Instead of a new trial, James invoked Raleigh’s 1603 treason conviction, which had never been formally overturned. Raleigh was executed on October 29, 1618 outside the Palace of Westminster. Ever the showman, he faced his death with courage and wit. His famous last words, Strike, man, strike, cemented his legacy as a figure of defiance and bravery.
In the end, the Main Plot was less about overthrowing a king and more about the precariousness of life in James’s court. For Raleigh, it marked the beginning of his long, tragic fall from grace. Whether he was truly involved in the conspiracy or simply a convenient scapegoat remains a matter of debate.
Legacy of Walter Raleigh
But what’s clear is that Raleigh’s life and death captured the imagination of generations to come. The conspirators themselves faded into obscurity, their plans little more than a footnote in history, but Raleigh’s story endured. He became a symbol of the Elizabethan Golden Age, a man whose ambition, courage, and wit could never be quite snuffed out, even by the executioner’s axe.
Even in death, Walter Raleigh refused to disappear quietly. His execution may have been the final chapter of his life, but it was just the beginning of his legend. In the centuries that followed, Raleigh became a romanticized figure, celebrated as a renaissance man who embodied the adventurous spirit of Elizabethan England.
Much of this mythologizing comes down to timing. Raleigh’s exploits, his trial, his execution all happened during a transformative period for England. He was a link between two worlds, the bold, expansionist Elizabethan age and the more cautious, politically fraught Jacobean era. Raleigh’s fall from favor was a reminder that ambition, no matter how grand, could be as dangerous as it was rewarding.
His writings, especially the History of the World, ensured that his voice would live on. Though he may have been bitter when he wrote it, the work was admired for its depth and its breadth, and it inspired readers well into the 18th century. Raleigh’s poetry, too, secured his place among great literary figures of his time, alongside contemporaries like Edmund Spencer and Christopher Marlowe.
The Main Plot didn’t amount to much in the grand scheme of things. It was a messy, half baked scheme riddled with confusion and unreliable testimony. But it revealed a lot about the tensions of the time. James was a new king trying to assert control over a fractured court. And plots like this one, and the Gunpowder Plot, and the Bye Plot, only reinforced his sense of vulnerability.
The Bye Plot was also known as the Priest’s Plot. That was a lesser known conspiracy in 1603 that ran parallel to the Main Plot. While they are separate conspiracies, the two became entangled in the minds of investigators and historians. The bi plot was actually orchestrated by a small group of disaffected Catholic priests and laymen who hoped to force King James I to grant greater tolerance or even full freedom of worship to Catholics.
Unlike the Main Plot, which aimed to overthrow James, the bi plot had more limited ambitions, but its methods were extreme. They wanted to kidnap James and hold him until he agreed to their demands, because I’m sure he’s going to do that. That makes sense. The conspirators intended to ambush the king as he traveled between London and Windsor and then detain him until he issued a proclamation of religious tolerance.
The kidnapping scheme gave the plot its nickname, the By Plot, derived from the conspirators private term for the act of passing by the usual course of law. It was led by two Catholic priests, William Watson and William Clark, with a small group of conspirators, including Sir Griffin Markham, who was a Catholic soldier.
All of this doesn’t really matter except just to say that it was a time of a lot of plots and James felt very vulnerable. So Walter Raleigh’s life was full of contradictions. He was a bold adventurer who made enemies as easily as he made discoveries. He was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth, yet he fell from her good graces.
He was a man of action who spent years trapped in a tower. And he was a supposed traitor who died with the dignity of a hero. The Main Plot may not have brought down a king, but it did bring down one of the most fascinating figures of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Even now, 400 years later, Raleigh’s story continues to captivate because, like the man himself, it’s full of ambition, intrigue, and enough mystery to keep us guessing.
So there we have it, a little bit about the Main Plot and Sir Walter Raleigh’s involvement in it.
Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast,  the original Tudor history podcast, started in 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. In 2019 she created Tudorcon, which is now a yearly event, in addition to writing books, and running TudorFair.com - a whimsical Tudor Merch shop.
She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 30 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history (how exciting when she got to interview Alison for the first time!). In addition to history, she is passionate about travel, and has lived in 3 countries and 4 states (not counting her perpetual state of confusion), and her family (who help her host her YouTube channel occasionally).
