The voyages of Hawkins and Drake into the West Indies had revealed to
Englishmen the enormous wealth of the Spanish trade thither, as well as
the weakness of the Spanish Government in those plundered papal
possessions. Frobisher had matured his plans, secured his grant, and in
1576 made his first voyage to find the north west passage. The same year
the half-brother of Raleigh, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, published his
'discourse for a discouerieof a new passage to Catai,' with a map
showing the coast of North America, and the passage to China. This was
the result of years of study, and though the elaborate work was written
out hastily at last, we know that while others were advocating the north
east passage, Sir Humphrey always persisted in the north western.
Frobisher's expedition is said to have been an outgrowth of Gilbert's
efforts and petitions. These projects were long in hand, but Gilbert, in
June 1578, obtained his famous patent from Elizabeth for two hundred
leagues of any American coast not occupied by a Christian prince. This
grant was limited to six years, to expire the eleventh of June 1584 in
case no settlement was made or colony founded. The story of Gilbert's
efforts, expenditures of himself and friends, his unparalleled
misfortunes and death, need not be retold here. Part of his rights and
privileges fell to his half-brother Walter Raleigh who had participated
somewhat in the enterprise. After Gilbert's death and before the
expiration of the patent, Raleigh succeeded in obtaining from Elizabeth
another patent, with similar rights, privileges, and limitations, dated
the 25th of March 1584, leaving the whole unoccupied coast open to his
selection. On the 27th of April, only a month later, he despatched two
barks under the command of Captains Amadas and Barlow, to reconnoitre
the coast, as Ribault had done, for a suitable place to plant a colony,
somewhere between Florida and Newfoundland. This patent also, like
Gilbert's, in case of negligence or non-success, was limited to six
years. But it required the confirmation of Parliament. Though there were