Lawrence Kemys or Keymis ( 1562–1618) was a seaman and companion of
Sir Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellion ...
in his expeditions to
Guiana
The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories:
* French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France
* ...
in 1595 and 1617–18.
First voyage to Guiana
Raleigh's 1595 voyage to Trinidad and Guiana consisted of four vessels, with Kemys serving as second-in-command and captain of a small Spanish prize named ''Gallego''. The aim of the expedition was to find Manõa, the mythic Gold city of
El Dorado
El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
and to strike up friendly relations with native tribes. Upon reaching Guiana, Kemys led a force inland along the banks of the
Essequibo River
The Essequibo River (Spanish: ''Río Esequibo'' originally called by Alonso de Ojeda ''Río Dulce'') is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil–Guyana bor ...
, reaching what he wrongly believed to be
Lake Parime
Lake Parime or Lake Parima is a legendary lake located in South America. It was reputedly the location of the fabled city of El Dorado, also known as Manoa, much sought-after by European explorers. Repeated attempts to find the lake failed to conf ...
.
Second voyage to Guiana
The next year, 1596, Raleigh being unable to go himself sent Kemys in command of the ''Darling'' to continue the exploration of the Guiana coast and the
Essequibo river
The Essequibo River (Spanish: ''Río Esequibo'' originally called by Alonso de Ojeda ''Río Dulce'') is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil–Guyana bor ...
. Kemys brought back glowing accounts of the wealth of the country he had visited, and urged on Raleigh that it would greatly advantage the queen
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
to take possession of it. Raleigh, however, was not in a position to follow the advice, and Kemys seems to have remained in his service on shore. During his exploration of the coast between the Amazon and the Orinoco, Kemys mapped the location of Amerindian tribes and prepared geographical, geological and botanical reports of the country. Kemys described the coast of Guiana in detail in his ''Relation of the Second Voyage to Guiana'' (1596)
[ John Knox Laughton, "Kemys, Lawrence" ''Dictionary of National Biography,'' 1885-1900, Volume 30.] and wrote that indigenous people of Guiana traveled inland by canoe and land passages towards a large body of water on the shores of which he supposed was located Manoa of El Dorado.
Imprisoned in the Tower
When, in 1603, Raleigh was accused of devising the so-called
Main Plot
The Main Plot was an alleged conspiracy of July 1603 by English courtiers to remove King James I from the English throne and to replace him with his cousin Lady Arbella Stuart. The plot was supposedly led by Lord Cobham and funded by the Spanish ...
against the King
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
, Kemys, as his follower and servant, was also implicated, and was imprisoned with him in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
, and afterwards in the Fleet, September–December 1603. He was probably released at the end of the year, and during Raleigh's long imprisonment of thirteen years, seems to have acted as his bailiff and agent.
In 1617, Raleigh was pardoned by the King James I and it was no doubt that Kemys instigated Raleigh to demand the Royal permission to go on his last voyage to the Orinoco, and when the permission was at last granted, Kemys accompanied him as pilot and captain, claiming to have certain knowledge of a rich gold mine.
Third voyage to Guiana
Kemys again sailed with Raleigh to Guiana in 1617, in search of gold with which Raleigh hoped to buy back royal favour. Kemys was instrumental in the sequence of events that led to the final downfall and execution of Raleigh after leading a party of Raleigh's men in an attack on the Spanish outpost of
Santo Tomé de Guayana on the Orinoco River, against Raleigh's orders, and in violation of peace treaties signed by the King, James I, with Spain. Raleigh's son Walter was killed during the attack. A condition of Raleigh's release from the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
in 1616 to undertake his mission to
Guiana
The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories:
* French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France
* ...
in search of
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
deposits and the legendary city of
El Dorado
El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
had been that he not attack or harass Spanish colonies or shipping. As Raleigh had been under a suspended death sentence for treason since 1603, the fact that men under his command had violated this order meant that James I would have had little option but to enforce this earlier sentence.
The sequence of events that led to Kemys' attack on Santo Tomé in January 1618 is unclear, with English and Spanish sources offering differing accounts of the incident, and each accusing the other of having fired the first shots, but it seems unlikely that Kemys intended the eventual result that transpired. Raleigh's son Walter was the first casualty of the brief skirmish, killed by a musket ball. One other Englishman and two Spaniards were also killed, before the Spanish garrison fled. Kemys' men found themselves in control of the town, but surrounded by hostile Spanish forces. Kemys sent out a few brief expeditions in search of the promised gold, but these were unsuccessful. After 29 days and failed attempts to negotiate with the Spanish, Kemys ordered Santo Tomé looted and burned. They set off back down the Orinoco to rejoin Raleigh and their fleet, finally arriving back there on 2 March.
Death
Kemys had already informed Raleigh by letter of the unfolding disaster and the death of his son. He went to Raleigh's cabin to beg forgiveness, but found Raleigh unable to grant it to him. In Raleigh's words, "I told him that he had undone me by his obstinacy, and that I would not favour... in any sort his former follie." Kemys reportedly replied, "I know then, Sir, what course to take," before returning to his own cabin. Kemys then committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest with a pistol, then when that did not prove immediately fatal, stabbing himself in the heart with a knife.
[John Hemming, ''The Search For El Dorado'', Phoenix Press; 2nd ed. 31 December 2001; Ch. 10. ]
On Raleigh's return to England, an outraged
Count Gondomar
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
, the Spanish ambassador, demanded that Raleigh's death sentence be reinstated by King James, who had little choice but to do so. Raleigh was brought to London from Plymouth by
Sir Lewis Stukley, where he passed up numerous opportunities to make an effective escape. Raleigh was beheaded in the Old Palace Yard at the Palace of Westminster on 29 October 1618.
With the aggression of the Indians towards Spain, the Spanish never returned in force particularly and this allowed other European countries (France and Holland as well as England) to colonize the region at east of Esequibo river over the next two centuries with the creations of
Dutch Guyana,
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
and eventually
British Guyana
British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana.
The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...
.
Over time as more explorers came to the region Lake Parime's existence was definitively disproved in the early 19th century and there was a theory that the seasonal flooding of the
Rupununi savannah
The Rupununi savannah is a savanna plain in Guyana, in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region. It is part of the Guianan savanna ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome.
Description
The Rupununi Savan ...
may have been misidentified as such.
[ Alexander von Humboldt, ''Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America During the Years 1799-1804,'' (chapter 25). Henry G. Bohn, London, 1853.](_blank)
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemys, Lawrence
16th-century English people
1618 deaths
Suicides by sharp instrument in Venezuela
Year of birth unknown
17th-century English people
English explorers
17th-century suicides