The Mystery of the Lost Colony - 941 Words

For centuries the disappearance of the Roanoke colonists has been one of the great mysteries in the historical community. Within the span of three years, 120 colonists disappeared from an English colony on Roanoke Island, a small piece of land off the coast of North Carolina. The evidence left behind barely gives us a clue as to what could have happened to the entire colony. With the testimony of John White, the leader of the colony that left the settlement to get more supplies, and what little evidence there is, there have been many theories as to what actually caused the disappearance. When trying to make a logical conclusion about the disappearance of the 120 inhabitants of the colony at Roanoke, there are many factors to consider.†¦show more content†¦The purpose of this overtly hostile action was to obtain information from the chief about the defensive capabilities of the surrounding Indian nations. This action only served to alienate the tribe and force the settlers to depend on the fruits of their own labors†¦ within months the first Roanoke colony was in disarray and the settlers were near starving (Croatoan). The colony barely lasted until Sir Francis Drake’s fleet sailed by in 1586 when Drake offered supplies or a trip back to their homeland. The settlers, starving and homesick, quickly accept the offer and return to England. Not even a week later a relief ship arrives with supplies to discover the settlement abandoned. The supply ship left fifteen men with a reasonable amount of food before departing (The Settlement). Raleigh’s first colony was an instructive test run for a second, more planned effort. He determined that if the colony was relocated 80 miles north in the Chesapeake Bay shipping would be essentially easier. He also decided to reconfigure the core of the colony by allowing seventeen women, nine children, and two ex-convicts under their new leader. John White was the expeditionary artist during Lane’s colony andShow MoreRelatedScience : The Mystery Of The Lost Colony1055 Words   |  5 PagesScience Unravels the Mystery of the Lost Colony What makes history such an interesting subject to study are the many mysteries intertwined with in it. Over the years many of the mysteries have been solved. However, one of the most intriguing mysteries still remains unsolved and leaves us with a question that needs to be answered, what happened to the settlers of the Lost Colony of Roanoke? Since their disappearance historians have come up with multiple theories about what could have possibly happenedRead MoreUnsolved Mysteries : The Lost Colony2458 Words   |  10 PagesUnsolved Mysteries - The Lost Colony During the 1500’s, the English started their first attempts at colonizing in the New World. One of the first colonies to settle in North America was named after the island on which they settled. That island was named the Roanoke Island. After a while of living on the island the colony had to return to England, since there had been a shortage of food and they had been attacked by nearby indians multiple times. A second group of English settlers also tried to settleRead MoreThe Mystery Of The Lost Colony Of Roanoke2021 Words   |  9 PagesThe mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke is a puzzling mystery about what happened to the first English settlers in America. The question is, what actually happened to them, because even with evidence and research no one knows for absolute certain what actually did happen. The disappearance of an entire colony, who left behind a dismantled settlement and the word Croatoan etched into a tree has stumped many archaeologists. Countless the ories have arisen, some more outrageous than the restRead More The Mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke Essay2868 Words   |  12 PagesThe Mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke It was the age of discovery that first provoked intrigue and curiosity of new lands, particularly the Americas, and how the Europeans could expand to fit their society within the borders of this unknown and unexplored land. By the 1580s, more had been learned about the Americas, but any colonization until this point had not even been attempted. And so it was the English, under Queen Elizabeth Is rule, that were issued to establish a colony along theRead MoreWhy the Roanoke Colony Disappeared1120 Words   |  5 Pagesof, nowadays, North Carolina (Drye Willie, 2004). On the ship the ship is a pregnant women also known as Eleanor Dare, daughter of John White, and the mother of Virginia Dare; the first English born American child. The Roanoke colony is one of the first American mysteries that no one has yet solved. There are a lot of theories regarding this tragedy. Some say that they drowned, and others say that they merged with the Indians living near by the colonists. Based upon rese arch, the theory that appearedRead MoreRoanoke Island: the Lost Colony1691 Words   |  7 PagesRoanoke Island: The Lost Colony Alycia Roberts HIST113 VC On July 22, 1587, long before the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock, 117 hopeful colonists from England landed ashore onto a tiny island along the coast of what is today North Carolina. The group unpacked and founded a settlement, Roanoke Island. Then they vanished without a trace. The story of the Lost Colony has fascinated people across four centuries and remains one of the enduring mysteries of early America. There are several theoriesRead MoreEssay on The Lost Roanoke Colony741 Words   |  3 Pagesthought by most of our general population to be the first colony in the New World. This is only half true. Jamestown is considered our first successful colony, however it was not our first attempt at a colony. There were a few attempts to colonize the New World before Jamestown and one in particular that is found to be interesting is Roanoke also known as the Lost Colony. It received this name due to the fact that the colonists that settled this colony disappeared very mysteriously. This poses the questionRead MoreThe Disappearance Of The Roanoke Island Colony1214 Words   |  5 PagesAmerica’s past is a mysterious one, riddled with unsolved questions and misleading legends. One of the most prominent enigmas that has haunted historians for centuries is the disappearance of the Roanoke Island Colony, also known to many as The Lost Colony. After leaving for three years, the governor of Roanoke Island, John White, returned to find the settlement abandon. The only remaining clue was the word â€Å"CROATOAN† carved into a fence post and the letters â€Å"CRO† etched into a nearby tree. SeveralRead MoreThe Last Colony Of Roanoke1639 Words   |  7 PagesThe Last Colony of Roanoke Five hundred years ago, European explorers landed in North America. After trying to locate a new route to Asia across the Atlantic Ocean, they found a continent they did not know existed. Three different groups traveled to the New World, starting in 1584 (Basu, Tanya). The last group included Gov. John White, he had to return to England to submit his report to the Queen. John White tried several times to return to Virginia, but it wasn’t until a few years later he was finallyRead MoreA Kingdom Strange By Dr. James Horn1736 Words   |  7 Pagesbest seller is, â€Å"A Kingdom Strange: The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke†. He is also the editor for five books on colonial and early American history. â€Å"A kingdom strange† by Dr. James Horn was copyright and published in the United States of America in March of 2010. A kingdom strange is a book that shares the political events along with other events that took place in 1587, which led to the lost English colony of the Roanoke Island. Horn’s reason to choose this topic to write