Raleigh was an enormously wealthy attendant and favorite of Elizabeth I. Raleigh recommended the colonization of what we now call the United States of America. Elizabeth bestowed on Raleigh's Trust and offices and in 1585 knighted him. Raleigh was also a scholar and thinker. He was an early supporter of colonizing America. Raleigh set off on a series of explorations. Raleigh had secretly married Elizabeth Throckmorton, a Maid of Honor to the Queen he was imprisoned until 1597.(learn more)