Raleigh’s possible spymaster ambitions in the Tower

During his confinement Raleigh writes History of the World, a work of political counsel that prompts James I to complain that it censures princes too sharply. The writing fits Raleigh’s apparent desire to emulate Francis Walsingham. One tentative interpretation is that he expected to expose or appropriate a Spanish-funded plot, seize its money, and improve his standing as a spymaster. That remains a hypothesis rather than an established account of his intentions. Plotters and contacts operated in an informer culture, racing to denounce one another before they could be accused themselves.