Roanoke Colonies, The – Encyclopedia Virginia
Half-brothers Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Walter Raleigh shared a passion for exploration and colonization. In 1578, Queen Elizabeth presented Gilbert with a six-year grant to explore and settle, on her behalf, unclaimed portions of North America. Fearing war with Catholic Spain and coveting Spanish wealth from Central and South America, Elizabeth saw the American coast as a potential haven for privateers such as Sir Francis Drake. The effective propagandists (and namesake cousins) Richard Hakluyt (the elder) and Richard Hakluyt (the younger) argued further for the region’s commercial possibil...
Source: encyclopediavirginia.org