Following his half-brother's death, Raleigh was granted a royal charter by Queen Elizabeth I to explore and colonize "any remote, heathen, and barbarous lands, countries, or territories, not actually possessed of any Christian Prince or inhabited by Christian people." In return, he would provide one-fifth of the gold and silver mined from that land. It was intended by Raleigh and the queen that the venture would provide riches from the New World and a base from which to send privateers to raids the Spanish treasure fleets.