Essay On Roanoke Colonies

Many countries attempted to start colonies after the New World was discovered. During the late 1500’s England attempted to settle a permanent colony in present day North Carolina. Their purpose for sailing over to the New World was to interfere the shipping for Spain. With a blessing from Queen Elizabeth of England, Sir Walter Raleigh set off to the New World with the help of Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe in command of the ships. The first of the Roanoke Voyages came in 1584. This was an exploratory expedition, solely for the purpose to scout out the land and find the best qualified land for settling a colony. The English explorers came in contact with the local Native Americans of the land; the Algonquian. After they came to the decision that Roanoke was the proper site for settlement, they returned to England with two Algonquians; Manteo and Wanchese. A year later they would return back to Roanoke for the second voyage.

John White decided to return back to England in 1586 and sail back to Roanoke with more food and supplies. White left the colony, including his great granddaughter; Virginia Dare the first English baby born in the new world. However, White’s return back to Roanoke was delayed three years due to the War with Spain. When White finally returned back to the island in 1590, he was met with a “Lost Colony”. Every single person, including Virginia Dare and her mother, were missing. The only evidence of the colony was the words “Croatoan” carved into a nearby tree. The “Lost Colony” is one of the most famous and significant English colonies. In the New World it was the first English settlement. The settlers attempted to meet ends with the local Native Americans and gained many new tactics that would later help future colonies and settlements survive. Unfortunately to this day, no historian has been able to pinpoint where the English Colony had disappeared