Raleigh's El Dorado Expedition Portuguese possessions and shipping, and conduct illicit trading. Sir Walter Raleigh had enjoyed several years of high esteem from Queen Elizabeth I, which stemmed in part from his previous exploits at sea which included the famous Capture of the Madre de Deus. Soon after, however, Raleigh suffered a short imprisonment for secretly marrying one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting, Elizabeth Throckmorton, and bearing her a child. In a bid to restore his influence with the Queen, Raleigh, having promised a "gold-rich empire more lucrative than Peru", had set up an expedition under John Whiddon to find the fabled city of gold
Throckmorton Plot and William Cecil, Lord Burghley, which obliged all signatories to execute anyone who attempted to usurp the throne or to assassinate the Queen. Throckmorton was convicted of high treason and executed in July 1584. There were no more resident Spanish ambassadors for the remainder of Elizabeth's reign. After discovery of the plot, Mary, Queen of Scots was placed under strict confinement at Chartley Hall in Staffordshire. Throckmorton Plot The Throckmorton Plot was an attempt, in 1583, by English Roman Catholics to murder Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with her first cousin once removed, Mary, Queen of Scots.