The Lost Colony of

Roanoke
There once was a colony called Roanoke. They had established it in 1587. It was rough for the
settlers. They tried to farm crops, but the soil was poor, so John White, the governor, returned to
England to get more supplies. But, There was a war going on with Spain and England, so
Queen Elizabeth asked John to stay and help fight. He agreed. On August 15, 1590, Elizabeth
allowed John White to return to Roanoke.
He had been away for three years, and had come back to bring supplies. But, when he
got to the town, everything had been packed up and the houses were gone. They had agreed
on carving a special cross on a tree, if anything bad happened, but there was no cross to be
found, only the word “Croatoan” carved on a tree. John later discovered 3 chests containing his
own possessions. But, everything was ruined. John states that the “savages” had done it. But, I
think since chests were usually made of wood at the time, water leaked in and rusted the metal
on his set of armor. After three years, the chests would have to have gone through lots of rough
and tumble, explaining why everything was broken (Primary Source #2).
The word “Croatoan” Could mean 2 things. The native americans, or Croatoan island. I
think they went to the island, because they had a hostile relationship with them, and also it
would be very, very, very, very, very, very, very hard to hunt for your own tribe and also 100+
more new people. I think they tore apart their houses to build a boat, so they could go to the
island ( Secondary Source #2).
One theory says that they all died of disease. Sure, Smallpox, Bubonic Plague, and
other diseases were common at the time, but if people died, wouldn’t you see gravesites? Also,
why did the houses disappear? (Secondary Source #3) Some other theories are that they were
washed away by a hurricane, they were taken hostage by the Spanish, They died of
hypothermia, and the Natives killed the settlers.
If a hurricane swept by, I’m pretty sure that the palisade would have fallen first, but all the
houses are gone and the fence still stood (SS3). If the Spanish took them hostage, would the
houses just disappear out of thin air? Would the Spanish really want anything to do with a
random old house? Also, I’m absolutely sure the Native Americans can’t have killed them,
because, yes, they can drag the bodies away, yes they could have such a lot of attackers that
the settlers couldn’t carve the cross, but would they have time to carve a full blown word like
Croatoan? Also, the Native Americans couldn’t have taken all the houses, because how could
they fit so many houses in a tiny village?
They could have chopped up the houses for firewood, but think about that. That’s a
REALLY BIG pile of wood, so they couldn’t store it in their camp. Also, since there is so much
firewood being stored, it would take a super long time to use up, so all the rain would spoil the
wood. They can’t of died of hypothermia because even though during that time, there was a
time period called the Little Ice Age (SS#4), even if they got so cold, and decided to tear up the
houses to make firewood, then use all of their houses up then have no shelter and die, and I
don’t think anyone could have thought of an idea of using up your shelter and freezing to death.
Even if some genius thought of that, there would probably be bones everywhere, and
also why would you write “Croatoan” on a tree if you’re cold? I think the word has a meaning
about how they disappeared, so I think they went to Croatoan island because:
1. They could have torn apart the houses to build a boat (SS2)
2. They were not supposed to land in Roanoke in the first place so they decided to make
things right (SS2)
3. Things were tough for them on Roanoke, so they couldn't have stayed on the island, so
they decided to try their luck on a new one.