Essay On The Disappearance Of Roanoke Colonis

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A mystery that has perplexed the world for centuries is the peculiar disappearance of the Roanoke Colonists. Countless investigations and extensive research have been done to gather more information in order to figure out what happened to these people. To this day, no one is certain of their fate. There are multiple theories that explain what possibly happened. Theories of what caused the disappearance of the Roanoke Colonists include: the colonists moved to a different location, Native American tribes took in the colonists, or the colony was attacked and the colonists failed to defend themselves.
This mystery all began in 1584 when English explorers decided Roanoke Island was the ideal place to set up a permanent colony in America (Farquhar). …show more content…

By 1586, two attempts of colonization had failed, partially because of the location of the island (Basu). Roanoke Island is located just off the coast of present-day North Carolina; surrounded by a raging sea and by Native Americans, who did not want people invading their land (Farquhar). The third and final mission to colonize Roanoke Island was in 1587 (Lawler). A group of 115 English men, women, and children voyaged to Roanoke Island (Lawler). This group was led by John White, who was an English cartographer and explorer (Britannica). With the intention of living here for the rest of their lives, the colonists constructed forts and other things necessary to civilization (Lawler). A few months after the colonists arrived in America, John White left with the intention to go back to England to gather more supplies and return …show more content…

Evidence from tree-ring data shows that extreme droughts occurred in this region during the late 1500’s (Stevens). During this drought, it would have been nearly impossible to plant crops to establish a food source. Other food sources, such as wild berries already growing on the island, were sparse. Freshwater sources were already limited on the island and could have completely evaporated because of the drought. Moving away from Roanoke Island would not have allowed the colonists to escape the drought, but they could have moved to an area with better food and water sources. Poor resources also could have caused the colonists to reach out to Native American tribes for

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