Lost Colony Of Roanoke Essay

Many of us enjoy a good mystery as it leads to many conspiracies and possibilities. The “Lost Colony” of Roanoke was the unsolved mystique in our American history that still leaves us all wondering to what really had happened with the disappearance. Before the founding of Jamestown and Plymouth, England had attempted to create a new colony but three years later when the supply ship had arrived the colony had completely vanished leaving behind possible clues and many unanswered questions. The significance of The “Lost Colony” of Roanoke was the initial cause of the disappearance, the clues that had been left behind, and the various theories that many choose to believe that had taken place.

This period in time was in the year of 1587 with England’s

intentions of seeking to start the first settlement in the new world. “England’s attempt at colonization would serve two purposes. First, a colony would act as a buffer against Spanish control of the North and South American coasts. Second, a colony would act as a base for privateering and allowing English ships to attack Spanish vessels and gain control of Spanish treasure and trade routes in the region” (commnonlit.com). According to sources, “A group of about 115 English settlers arrived on Roanoke Island, off the coast of what is now North Carolina. Later that year, it was decided that John White, governor of the new colony would sail back to England in order to gather a fresh load of supplies” (History.com staff). Initially the settlers would receive and be resupplied every year. However, when Governor John White had returned to England they were not able to return to the Island of Roanoke as planned due to the naval war that had arisen between the Spaniards and the English. “Just as he arrived, a major naval war broke out between England and Spain, and Queen Elizabeth Ι called on every available ship to confront the mighty Spanish Armada” (History.com staff). Due to the distraction that had occurred for Governor John White, it made it impossible to return because of the new priorities that had come up. After the war had ended, it had taken a total three years for the settlers to return to the Island of Roanoke. “In August 1590, White finally returned to Roanoke, where he had left his wife and daughter, his infant granddaughter (Virginia Dare, the first child born in the Americas) and the other settlers three long years before. He found no trace of the colony or its inhabitants, and few clues to what might have happened” (History.com staff).
Among the vanishing of the village in Roanoke, a few clues had been discovered and identified upon the investigation of where everything and everyone had possibly disappeared to.

“The search began when an anxious Englishman named John White waded ashore on North Carolina’s, Roanoke Island. White was returning from England with desperately needed supplies. But when he stepped ashore on August 18, 1590, he found the settlement looted and abandoned. The vanished colonists had left behind only two clues to their whereabouts: the word “Crotoan” carved on a prominent post and “Cro” etched into a tree” (National Geographic). With the very few clues that were left behind made things more challenging and difficult in proving with factual evidence on the whereabouts of the settlers. “On the basis of the mysterious tree carving, the nearby Croatoan Island, now known as Hatteras Island, is the location to which many believe the colonists moved. At the time of the colony’s founding, the Hatteras Indians occupied the island, and a popular theory supposes that the colonists joined the group of Native Americans to overcome their lack of resources and knowledge of the land. A supposed piece of evidence for this claim is the existence of carvings in stones that were purportedly made by Eleanor Dare, the daughter of John White. These stones, often called the Dare Stones, contain written stories that tell the fates of the colonists and personal anecdotes from Dare to her father. Though they are largely believed to be a hoax and forgery, there is some academic belief that at least one of the stones may be authentic” (Hogeback, Johnathan). According to another source, “White’s letter states: We passed toward the place where they were left in sundry houses, but we found the houses taken down, and the place very strongly enclosed with a high palisado of great trees, with cortynes and flankers very Fort-like, and one of the chief trees or posts at the right side of the entrance had the

bark taken off, and 5 foot from the ground in fayre Capital letters was graven CROATOAN without any cross or sign of distress” (PDF). It has been said that instead of revealing what they witnessed, they purposefully try to conceal what had really happened to the 115 men, women and children and had decided to let the speculations linger and resume.
With a mystery as great as this one, assumptions and theories eventually came about. With The “Lost Colony” of Roanoke being the biggest ongoing mystery in American history, tends to leave many wanting answers and an explanation for the cause of the abandonment. One of the many theories that people have concluded to believe are that the malicious Spanish had invaded and captured the settlers coming from the south region. “Perhaps, they met a bloody end at the hands of Spaniards who had marched up from Florida or that they moved further inland and were absorbed into a friendly tribe” (History.com). However, there are several other hypothesizes for the clarification of the vanishing in Roanoke. An alternative theory that others choose to accept as true are that the colonists decided to simulate to the Native inhabitants.
“Ever since, Explores, historians, archaeologists, and enthusiasts have sought to discover the fate of the 115 men, women, and children who were part of England’s first attempt to settle the New World” (NationalGeographic). “In 2007, efforts began to collect and analyze DNA from local families to figure out if they’re related to the Roanoke settlers, local Native American tribes or both. Despite the lingering mystery, it seems there’s one thing to be thankful for: The lessons learned at Roanoke may have helped the next group of English settlers, who would found their own colony 17 years later just a short distance to the north, at Jamestown” (History.com).