He reached Hampton November 8, 1587.[16] He found affairs in a turmoil.

England was threatened with the great Armada, and Raleigh, Grenville, Lane, and all the other friends of Virginia were exerting their energies for the protection of their homes and firesides.[17] Indeed, the rivalry of England and Spain had reached its crisis; for at this time all the hopes of Protestant Christendom were centred in England, and within her borders the Protestant refugees from all countries found a place of safety and repose.

In 1585 the Dutch, still carrying on their struggle with Spain, had offered Queen Elizabeth the sovereignty of the Netherlands, and, though she declined it, she sent an army to their assistance.

The French Huguenots also looked to her for support and protection.

Spain, on the other hand, as the representative of all Catholic Europe, had never appeared so formidable.