Raleigh’s fierce anti-Catholicism makes stories that he seriously meant to sell the Ark Raleigh to Spain doubtful. His friendship with Francis Walsingham instead places him within an anti-Spanish court and intelligence network, and Walsingham also invested in the Roanoke venture. Raleigh had the Ark Raleigh built and contributed to ship design before the vessel became the Ark Royal and served as Lord Howard of Effingham’s flagship in 1588. Howard could choose his commanders for the Armada campaign and did not select Raleigh. The omission was a major personal slight and showed that contemporaries already doubted Raleigh’s ability to deliver. Raleigh was absent from the operations even though his ships were used, separating ownership, design, and promotion from personal command performance.
Notable Point · 5:24-10:25
Ark Royal, Walsingham, and Raleigh’s Armada absence
Raleigh’s anti-Spanish network and construction of the Ark Raleigh linked him to the fleet of 1588, but the ship’s service contrasts with his own absence from the Armada campaign.