Roanoke Colonies 1585 & 1586
Sir Walter Raleigh, founding member
Vanished
Sir Walter Raleigh was given permission by the Queen of England to start a colony in the "New World." (It wasn't really new, it was just new to those in Europe.) The main thing he hoped for was gold from the New World. The first colony did not have any people that new how to survive in the "wild" so they returned to England. The second group was surviving, but sent John White back to England for supplies. Unfortunately, due to war between England and Spain, no one was able to return for three years. When the crew finally did return to Roanoke, there was no sign of the early settlers. No one knows what happened to them -- did they die? Did they join the Indians? Did they move to a different island? This just shows how dangerous a time it was for early colonists.
Sir Walter Raleigh
Painting of area made by John White
Painting made by John White of Roanoke Indian
Map
LOCATION
Roanoke Island was located off the coast of what is now called North Carolina.
The Land of Opportunity?
Fellow citizens, you do not want to come to Roanoke. No one knows the horrors that happened here. Even though the island has fish, fruit, vegetables and animals, the life is hard, and if you don't know how to farm, you will have nothing to show for it, and could possibly starve to death. Also, there are many Natives that live here. At first, we got along, but now we are fighting all the time. Take my advice, do not move here!