The Disappearance of the Roanoke Colony

Introduction

The disappearance of the Roanoke Colony is one of history's greatest mysteries. 112-121 colonists just vanished from eastern North Carolina in the 1580s, only leaving behind one word, carved into a tree: Croatoan.

HISTORY

The Roanoke Colony was the first permanent English settlement in America.

Ralph Lane set up a colony on the outer banks of what is now North Carolina in 1585, hoping to find gold and silver and for the town to prosper. However, skirmishes with the local Native Americans and a lack of supplies forced them to evacuate in 1586 despite reinforcements on the way.

In 1587, John White returned to Roanoke and reestablished the colony, providing hope for a new future in America. Once he had set up camp for the 112-121 settlers, he returned to England for a resupply mission.

However, Queen Elizabeth I had stated that all ships must stay in England to defend against the incoming Spanish Armada. This stopped White from launching a resupply mission until 1588, but the ship was attacked by French pirates near Morocco. They looted all of the supplies aboard and killed many of his men, forcing him to return to England again.

White did not gain permission for another resupply mission until 1590.

DISAPPEARANCE

Upon arrival with supplies on August 12, 1590, the crews saw plumes of smoke from the Croatoan and Roanoke Islands but decided not to go onshore. They braved tough conditions and managed to make it through Pamlico Sound, although not without multiple fatalities. They finally made landfall and came into the original campsite on August 18, only to find an empty camp. The entire area was protected by a strong wooden fence, and the word, ‘CROATOAN’ was carved into one of the posts near the entrance. This signified that the settlers had relocated to Croatoan Island, as per the code White had discussed. However, after returning to the ship, its anchor cable snapped, forcing them to sail back to England without trekking onto Croatoan Island.

INVESTIGATION

Multiple expeditions were launched to the area to attempt to find the Lost Colony, but all of them were forced to reroute due to Natives or bad weather. Over 115 years after their disappearance, Englishman John Lawson finally made it to the island in the early 1700s and became the first person to investigate the area after John White in 1590. He reported that the locals had told him that some of their ancestors were white and had blue eyes, supporting Theories 1 and 3 below.

THEORIES

Theory 1: The colonists integrated themselves into the Croatoan Native American tribe on Croatoan Island after losing hope of English backup. This is the most likely event that could have happened and is backed up by these facts: there was no sign of struggle at their old fort during White’s 1590 investigation; Lawson’s search during the 1701-1709 period showed that the Natives seemed to have English cultural traits, and they said themselves that some of their ancestors were white. In addition, multiple artifacts have been dug up at the site that are a mix of English and Native-related objects, proving that the settlers assimilated in some way.

Theory 2: The colonists were attacked and massacred during the time that John White was away in England (from 1587 to 1590). This is also probable, as many later colonists such as the Jamestown settlers were similarly attacked by Native Americans. They also could have been living peacefully in the area until the early 1600s, but tribes may have killed them to take revenge on the Jamestown settlers, who were violently encroaching upon their land in the Chesapeake Bay. 

Theory 3: The colonists tried to build a boat to sail back to England. This was actually a feasible plan, as they had some supplies and wood needed to build a boat, meaning that they could have sailed away from North Carolina to another part of the New World. In addition, they only had enough supplies for a certain number of colonists, meaning that they would have had to split up, which is backed up by Lawson’s evidence that some Croatoan tribe members had white ancestors– the colonists that stayed behind would have had to assimilate with the local Natives. 

Theory 4: The colonists were attacked by the Spanish. Spain knew about the 1587 expedition to Roanoke Island and retained claims to all of Florida, meaning that they may have considered the Roanoke establishment as a threat. However, they were still searching for the Lost Colony until the early 1600s, which they wouldn’t have been doing if they had already taken out the settlers. It could have been a diversion to keep it a mystery, though. 

CONCLUSION

We will most likely never find out what actually happened after John White left Roanoke in 1587, but we can conclude that they probably assimilated with the Native Americans in some way. However, they may have been attacked, or their descendants could be living in some remote location right now– who knows?

Credit to Wikipedia for cover image