4. Raleigh became Sir Walter Raleigh through the good graces of the Queen
In gratitude for his suppressing the rebellion in Ireland, and as a means of checking the power of other courtiers who schemed against her and her ministers, Queen Elizabeth granted to Walter Raleigh landed estates in Ireland, along with Royal patents and licenses which allowed him to collect substantial sums from the Irish peasants who worked his lands, or operated as merchants or publicans. His financial status assured, Raleigh was also granted the title of Sir Walter when Elizabeth knighted him in 1585. Two years earlier, Gilbert Humphrey had died, having failed to establish an English colony in Newfoundland, and Raleigh lobbied Her Majesty for the license to colonize North America for the English.