Colonial America

Lost Colony of Roanoke

Roanoke Colony was the first attempt by the English to establish a colony in the
Americas. Unfortunately, the colony failed when the settlers disappeared under
mysterious circumstances giving the colony the nickname the "Lost Colony."

Map showing location of

Jamestown and Roanoke Island Colonies
by NOAA

Where was the colony located?

The Roanoke Colony was located on Roanoke Island off the coast of North Carolina.
The land was considered part of Virginia at the time.

Early Plans

In 1584, the land of Virginia in North America was granted to Sir Walter Raleigh by
Queen Elizabeth I. The British hoped to establish a foothold in the Americas to expand
their empire. Raleigh sent out Captain Philip Amada and Captain Arthur Barlowe to
explore the area. They discovered Roanoke Island and met the local natives. Raleigh
decided this would be a good place to establish a colony.

First Colony at Roanoke

The first expedition to Roanoke was led by Sir Richard Greenville. The expedition
arrived at Roanoke in 1585. Greenville left 107 settlers, all men, at Roanoke under the
charge of Ralph Lane. Greenville then returned to England in order to gather additional
supplies for the settlement.

The settlers built a fort at Roanoke, but struggled to survive. It didn't help matters that
they were constantly fighting with the local Native Americans. When English explorer Sir
Francis Drake passed by the settlement and offered to take them back to England, the
colonists agreed. Not long after the colonists left, Captain Greenville finally returned with
new supplies only to discover that the settlement had been abandoned. He left a small
group of men on the island and then returned to England.

Second Colony at Roanoke

A second attempt at starting a colony at Roanoke occurred in 1587. This time 115
colonists travelled to Roanoke led by John White. They hoped to find the men that
Greenville had left a year earlier. However, upon their arrival, all they found at the
settlement was a human skeleton. Despite this setback, the colonists began to build
their settlement on Roanoke. Not long after their arrival, a girl named Virginia Dare was
born. She was the first child born in the Americas to English parents.

Unfortunately, the colonists continued to have disputes with the local tribes and some
colonists were killed. They also discovered that they were ill-prepared to build a thriving
colony. John White decided to return to England in order to gain supplies and
reinforcements for the colony.

John White discovers the word "CROATOAN"

carved at Roanoke's fort palisade
by unknown

The Colony has Disappeared

After returning to England, White could find

little help for the colony. England was in the
middle of a large battle with Spain and the
Spanish Armada. As a result, White was
unable to return until three years later in
1590. When White arrived he found the
colony completely abandoned. The only
clues that White found included the word "Croatoan" carved into a fence post and "Cro"
carved into a tree.

White found no sign of a struggle, however, and figured that the colonists had moved to
Croatoan, which was what they called a nearby island (Hatteras Island). He also had
reason to hope because he had told the colonists to carve a Maltese cross if they were
being forced leave. Since he found no cross, he figured the colonists were okay. White
was unable to search the nearby island for the colonists because of a bad storm and
was forced to return to England.

The colonists were never heard from again and the colony gained the nickname the
"Lost Colony."

Theories on the Disappearance

There are many theories about the disappearance of the Roanoke Colony. Many
historians think that the colonists moved. They probably moved to Hatteras Island or
further inland into the forests of North Carolina. The colonists may have eventually
starved to death or been killed by local tribes. They may also have survived, made
friends with a local tribe, and eventually became part of the tribe. One theory is that they
became part of the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina. Another theory is that the Spanish,
who didn't want the English in the Americas, destroyed the settlement and took the
colonists captive.

Interesting Facts about the Lost Colony of Roanoke

 Virginia Dare was the granddaughter of the colony's leader and governor John
White.
 Roanoke Island is about 8 miles long and 2 miles wide.
 A bridge was built to Roanoke Island in 2002. It is called the Virginia Dare
Memorial Bridge.
 No one is sure where the colony was located on the island. It is likely that the
settlement is currently underwater due to erosion.

Activities

 Take a ten question quiz.

 Draw a picture about what you think the colony would look like.
 Lost Colony of Roanoke
Test Quiz
Questions on this quiz are based on information from
Lost Colony of Roanoke.

1. What country established the Colony of Roanoke?

a. Spain
b. England
c. Portugal
d. Netherlands
e. France

2. What US state is Roanoke located in today?

a. North Carolina
b. Virginia
c. Georgia
d. California
e. New York

3. Who was the first child born in the Americas to English parents?
a. Carolina Smith
b. Pocahontas
c. Elizabeth White
d. Virginia Dare
e. John Greenville

4. What famous explorer brought the settlers from the first colony of Roanoke back to England?
a. Christopher Columbus
b. Ponce de Leon
c. James Cook
d. Henry Hudson
e. Sir Francis Drake

5. True or False: The Roanoke Colony eventually grew into a large city where thousands of
colonists lived.
a. TRUE
b. FALSE
6. Where was the word "Croatoan" found?
a. On a piece of paper
b. Carved on a fence post
c. On the side of a house
d. Written with pebbles on the ground
e. Painted on a rock

7. Who was the leader of the second colony of Roanoke?

a. John White
b. John Smith
c. Mark Greenville
d. Sir Francis Drake
e. Virginia Dare

8. What did White find when he returned to the island in 1590?

a. A bustling colony
b. Only a few settlers
c. An abandoned village
d. Signs of a huge battle
e. A Native American tribe

9. Who was the leader of England at the time the Roanoke colony was settled?
a. Queen Victoria
b. King Henry VIII
c. King James II
d. Queen Elizabeth I
e. King George V

10. True or False: Historians know exactly what happened to the Colony of Roanoke.
a. TRUE
b. FALSE

About this quiz: All the questions on this quiz are based on information that can be found on
the Lost Colony of Roanoke page at /history/colonial_america/lost_colony_of_roanoke.php.

This quiz is copyright property of Ducksters and TSI. All rights reserved. Please
visit www.ducksters.com.
Name___________________________________ Date______________________ Number___________

The Mystery of Roanoke by Leslie Goldman:INFERENCING SKILLS

Directions-Read the passage. Answer the questions from the paragraph. After reading, go to the Think
and Respond page to answer questions.

More than 400 years ago, an English colonist named John White and a small crew sailed to England from
tiny Roanoke Island. They left 117 men, women, and children behind to start a new colony. White
returned to Roanoke three years later with supplies, but found no one. Everyone had vanished without
a trace. How could 117 people just disappear? Where did they go? There are many theories to explain
what happened, but no one knows for sure. The “lost colony” was never found. 1.)Why did they call it
the “lost colony”?
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Some historians believe that the story of Roanoke started in 1584, several years before the “lost colony”
vanished. That is when the first trip from England to Roanoke is said to have taken place. These
accounts say that the English made contact with a local Native American tribe called the Croatoan
(KROH-uh-tohn). Although the English found a place to build a settlement, no explorers stayed. They all
returned to England. 2 .) Why did the explorers go there and then decide to return to England? What
was their mission?_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

A group of colonists arrived at Roanoke in 1585. The men that were left on the island built a settlement.
The ship sailed back to England for supplies. The ship was supposed to return the following spring. 3.)
What did the writer mean when she said, “The ship was supposed to return the following spring”?
_____________________________________________________________________________________

The settlement ran into trouble right away. Food supplies were short, but it was too late in the year to
plant crops. Besides, these colonists did not really want to be farmers. They were more interested in
looking for gold and pearls. Food became scarce, and the winter weather turned cold and stormy. 4.)
Do you think it was wise for the new settlers to be more interested in gold than how to farm land?
Why/why not?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Although the English were friendly with the Croatoan tribe, their relations with some other tribes in the
area were not good. Some settlers were cruel to Native Americans, causing them to dislike the English.
5.) Why do you think the English were cruel to the Native Americans?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Things got even worse when the settlers ran out of supplies. Faced with starvation, they were forced to
eat anything they could.

Luckily an English ship appeared at Roanoke the next spring, in 1586. It was not the hoped-for supply
ship. It was a ship under the command of Sir Frances Drake. He had attacked some Spanish settlements
in Florida, and decided to stop at Roanoke on the way back to Europe. Finding the colonists miserable,
Drake offered to take them home, and they jumped at the chance to leave. Three of the men were away
exploring the area at the time. They were left behind and never heard from again. 6.) Why do you
think everyone decided to leave with Sir Frances Drake? Why would they have left the 3 men behind?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

The supply ship from England arrived at Roanoke a short time later. It had 400 men on board, many of
whom were going to stay at the colony. When they found it deserted, however, most returned home.
Only 15 men stayed behind to guard the fort. 7.) Do you think leaving 15 men behind was a good or
bad idea? Why/why not?
_____________________________________________________________________________________

The colonists who had returned to England with Drake complained about terrible conditions on
Roanoke. Still, the English did not give up on the colony. 8.) Why do you think the English did not want
to give up on this colony?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
A second group of settlers reached the island in the summer of 1587. An artist named John White was in
charge of the expedition and would be the governor of the new area. Roanoke was to be called Raleigh
(RAW-lee), after Sir Walter Raleigh.

The new colonists searched for the 15 men who had stayed behind the year before. All they found was
one skeleton at the deserted fort on the island. The fate of the men was a big mystery, but it didn’t stop
the English colonists from settling on the site from which 15 men had disappeared. 9.)Why do you think
they settled at the fort?
_____________________________________________________________________________________

The new colonists were disturbed by the disappearance of the 15 men. They asked the Croatoans what
had happened. The Croatoans told them that an enemy tribe, the Powhatans (pow-uh-TANZ), had
attacked the small fort. They said the Powhatans killed some of the men at that time, but they did not
know how many. They also did not know what had happened to the survivors.

John White was upset by the news. He became even more upset when members of a local tribe---not
the Croatoans---killed an English settler. White decided to attack the tribe, but the colonists made a
terrible mistake. Instead of attacking the enemy tribe, they killed a group of friendly Croatoans who
were in the enemy’s village. The attacked spoiled the friendly relations between the Croatoans and the
English colonists.

The colonists were also in desperate need of food. Many of their supplies from England were running
out, and food was spoiling. With winter coming, someone had to go back to England to get more food
and other supplies. John
White sailed from Roanoke to England in August of 1687. He left 117 people behind at the little
settlement on Roanoke. John White left behind his daughter Eleanor and her husband, Ananias Dare.
Eleanor gave birth to White’s granddaughter on August 18, 1587. He r name was Virginia Dare---the first
child born of English parent s in North America. 10.)How do you think John White felt when he had to
leave his daughter and her new baby?
_____________________________________________________________________________________

When John White returned home, England was at war with Spain. White tried to raise money to go back
to Roanoke with the supplies the settlers needed. But people were not interested in spending money on
his little colony.
Besides, England needed all its money and ships for war. It also would have been very dangerous to sail
during the war.

White could not get back to Roanoke for three years. When he finally reached Roanoke on August 15,
1590, the people were gone. The fort was abandoned. Before he left for England three years earlier,
White had told the colonists to leave a sign if there was trouble. 11.)Why do you believe White wanted
the colonists to leave a sign if there had been trouble?
_____________________________________________________________________________________

White told them to carve the name of their destination if they had to leave. He also told them to carve a
cross above the destination if they were attacked. White never found such a sign. The only clue was the
word “Croatoan” carved into one of the posts of the fort. There was no cross above it. 12.) What do
believe this sign meant?
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Croatoan was not the only name of a local Native American tribe; it was also the name of a nearby
island. White thought the colonists might have moved in with the Croatoan tribe, but he did not know
for sure. He wanted to stay at Roanoke and find out what had happened, but he could not. A hurricane
swept in from the Atlantic and damaged White’s ship. White and the crew had to return to England.

White was back in England by late 1590. He told Sir Walter Raleigh and other investors about the
vanished settlements. He tried to convince them to send another expedition immediately to the island,
but no one was interested in the Roanoke colony. England was still at war with Spain. 13.) Why did John
White desperately try to convince the investors to go back to the Roanoke settlement?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The years passed. By 1607, the Jamestown colony (Virginia) had been settled. It was not far from
Roanoke Island. The leaders of Jamestown heard that some Roanoke colonists might be living nearby.
They sent out search parties but could not find anyone. It had been more than 20 years since the
Roanoke colonists had vanished. In all that time, no one had bothered to look for them. Any clues that
might have told where they went had most likely disappeared.

Later, Roanoke Island was a battle site during the Civil War. The original fort was destroyed at that
time---along with just about any remaining traces of evidence.

Although no one knows for sure what happened at Roanoke, there are many theories. Local Native
American tribes told the early Jamestown settlers several stories, but their stories did not agree with one
another. One story said that a hostile tribe had attacked the settlement and killed all the settlers.
Another said that the attackers had killed only the men, and had taken the women and children to live
with their tribes. A third story said that the whole colony had abandoned its settlement and gone to live
with local Native American tribes.
14.) Which of these do you feel is what most likely happened to the colonist?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
____________

Some people thought the Spanish had attacked the colonists. Records show that a group of Spanish
men did go to the island in June 1588 to attack the colony. By that time, however, the Roanoke
settlement was deserted.

Disease or starvation could have killed most of the colonists. If that is true, why were their bodies never
found? Some people even believe that the colonists built a small ship and tried to sail back to England on
their own. If that did happen, the ship was lost at sea.

An English explorer named John Lawson visited Roanoke Island in 1700---more than 100 years after the
colonists vanished. He spent some time with the Hatteras tribe. They were descendants of the earlier
Croatoan tribe. Lawson wrote that they told him “several of their ancestors were white people and
could talk as we do, the truth of which is confirmed by gray eyes being found among these Indians and
no others.” Lawson believed that at least some of the colonists went to live with the Croatoans, or other
Native American tribes. The English settlers and Native Americans could have had children with the
features like those Lawson saw among members in the tribe.

Recently, scientists have developed a new theory. They think the area was hit by a severe drought that
helped destroy the colony. These scientists say that tree rings hold the clues. As trees grow, they
produce a new layer of wood cells each year. These wood cells form a ring that people can see in the
trunk when the tree is cut down. When a tree has a good growing season, that year’s ring is wide.
When a tree has a bad growing season, the ring is narrow. Scientists have examined trees from Roanoke.
They found very narrow growth rings for the years 1587 to 1589. This means Roanoke had very little
rain during those years.

A drought would have affected the colony’s supply of food and fresh water. The colonists
would have had little food. Nearby Native American tribes, even friendly ones, would have had little
food to share. The drought from 1587 to 1589 was the worst in 800 years. The colonists at Roanoke
had chosen the worst possible time to settle there and to farm.

There are many theories about what happened to the settlers at Roanoke Island, but no one will ever be
sure about the real answer. The fate of the colonists of Roanoke Island may forever remain a mystery.
 THINK AND RESPOND
1.) In what year did the first English explore land on Roanoke Island? _____________________

2.) What ideas have been suggested to explain why the early Roanoke colonists disappeared?
List several.

3.) Who organized the trips made by the Roanoke colonists?

4.) Imagine you are one of the first Roanoke colonists. Write a description telling how about a
typical day as a Roanoke colonist.
After reading the passage and completing the test, go to ducksters.com and go to History, and
click on a History Subject.