Over 433 years ago, Governor John White and approximately 115 colonists left Britain to establish one of the first colonies in the New World. The colony was established on Roanoke Island, off the coast of North Carolina. Today, the Roanoke Colony is often referred to as the “Lost Colony,” due to the mysterious disappearance of the colony’s residents. Centuries later, historians are still perplexed by this infamous settlement. Although there is no definite explanation of what became of the Roanoke Colony, the most accepted and likely theory is that the colonists integrated into the local Native American tribes.
In 1584, Queen Elizabeth I granted Sir Walter Raleigh a charter to explore and eventually establish a colony in North America. The first expedition involved establishing relationships with the Croatoan Native Americans on Roanoke Island. The second expedition was led by Sir Richard Grenville; the goal was to formally set up a permanent colony. However, due to violent encounters with Indian …show more content…
The goal was to establish a colony of men, women, and children in North America. Included in this journey to the New World was John White’s daughter, Eleanor Dare; she would later give birth to the first British child born in North America, Virginia Dare. Upon arriving at the island of Roanoke, skeletal remains of the previous 15 men that Grenville had left on the island were found, unnerving the colonists greatly. When White’s advisor, George Howe, was murdered by Natives, the colonists took action. Allied Croatoan Indians reported to White that Indians living in the town of Dasemunkepeuc had killed Howe. Unfortunately, when White’s men attacked the village, they mistook friendly Croatoans for the enemy and ended up killing one of them and wounding many more. From that point on, the relationship between the English settlers and the local tribes began to