DOCSLIB.ORG

The Lost Colony of Roanoke Mystery Clues

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Lost Colony of Roanoke Mystery Clues The Lost Colony of Roanoke, 1588 by [email protected] Most Americans know the story of the “Lost Colony”. It dates back to the time the Europeans began to settle on this free land, that is now known as Virginia. The village of Roanoke was the one of the first English colonies to be established on the soil. However this village did not turn out to be that of a successful one. The Governor of this hamlet had the name of John White. The small population of Roanoke complained about their lack of food and tools. They also contained frightening suspicions that the Natives may launch a surprise attack on them. These complaints eventuated in John White going to England to later return along with the proper supplies the colonists requested. John White returned three long years afterwards. But what he returned to was not that of a colony but of a ghost town. The area which was once a village was stripped of its people. Houses and other shelters were nowhere in site. What was left behind were some small cannons, an opened chest, a tall fence built around the perimeter of the former village site, and a single word inscription carved on a fence post, “Croatoan”. Five Popular Theories: 1. The people of Roanoke simply left the settlement. This is one of the more probable theories. It is said that they have supposedly left Roanoke island and started settling in the Chesapeake Bay. And that they built rafts or a boat of some sort using materials torn apart from their houses. Close to twenty years had passed before John Smith and his group started the well-known settlement of Jamestown (where the popular story of Pocahontas takes place). This settlement was near the Chesapeake Bay. The evidence in this tale is that the ruler of the natives did indeed admit to killing the colonists. They said that they had been in their land (Chesapeake Bay area) and were then annihilated to prevent more English settlers form stealing their land. 2.The whole population of Roanoke Island was killed by a disease. This is an absurd theory. It is true that the English had brought over some diseases. However, note, there were no bodies found and the houses had disappeared. Quite a ridiculous theory. 3. The village was destroyed by a severe storm such as a hurricane. Another one of the incredulous theories. A hurricane could have washed away the colonists and destroyed the houses, true. But the huge problem with this theory is the fence was still standing. It is not possible for a storm to do as much damage as clearing away the whole settlement when the fence remained untouched. 4. The people of Roanoke decided to leave Roanoke Island to live with the Natives. This theory is definitely probable. Crotoan, which was carved on the post, was the name of an island in the area. It was also the name of the group of the kind natives that inhabited it. It is possible that they colonists decided to live with the natives of Croatoan. Though there has not been a descent amount of evidence to prove this theory, there also has been no evidence against it. 5. The colonists were killed by the Native Americans This is the most probable of all five theories. One important fact supports this theory. As one may not know, the English men had before tried to start the colony of Roanoke before. Twas a group of fifteen men. A little over a year had passed since they first started the colony, before explorers decided to check up on their hopeful progress. What these explorers found was one dead body. It was verified that it was the work of the Natives. From this past event we know that the Natives were capable of such atrocities and also capable of hiding the bodies. What’s interesting is that the Natives pulled all of that off in between less than a two year period. While the “lost colony” had been deprived of its leader for a number of three years. The “Indians” had a sufficient amount of time to tear down the buildings too. However there has still not been enough evidence to verify this theory. It is an incredible fact that hitherto historians contain no sure explanation about what exactly happened to the colonists and the residences of Roanoke in 1588. People have umpteen theories on what occurred in that three year period. Some, as we know, include, the spread of a disease, a hurricane, etc. Even peculiar yet probable theories such as extra- terrestrial abductions have been issued. Will mankind perpetually crawl in the dark when it comes to this topic? Or, will light be discovered? Mystery of the Lost Colony Clues • Spanish records indicate that a ship landed on Roanoke in June of 1588 and found the colony deserted. • John White found the settlement deserted, plundered and surrounded with a high palisade of large trees, describing it as “very fort-like.” On one of the tree trunks was carved the word “CROATAN,” Chief Manteo’s tribe. The letters “CRO” were also found on another trunk nearby. • White said the carvings were “to signifie the place, where I should find the planters seated, according to ta secret token agreed upon betweene them and me at my last departure from them…” • Supposedly, White had told the settlers that if they were FORCED to leave the colony, they should carve a cross above their destination, but no cross was found. • John Lawson, and English explorer who visited Roanoke and spent time with the Hatteras Indians in 1709 wrote, “Several of their ancestors were white people…the truth of which is confirmed by gray eyes being found infrequently among these Indians and no others.” • Hamilton MacMillan of North Carolina published what could be relevant information about the Pembroke Indians in 1888. He said they claimed their ancestors to be from “Roanoke in Virginia,” Raleigh’s description of the colony. He also noted that they spoke English, had the same last names as many colonists, and that many had European features including fair hair and light eyes. • Documents discovered in Spanish and British records indicate that after White left Roanoke in 1587 the colony may have split up into two groups. It is believed that one may have traveled on to the Chesapeake Bay area using maps left behind by White and/or Fernandez. • After the English settlement at Jamestown was established, reports reached the colonists that some of the Roanoke colonists were alive and living nearby. A search of the area, though, turned up nothing. • Recent study of tree rings in giant bald cypress trees on Roanoke Island show that the worst drought conditions in the past 800 years may have occurred during the years the “lost colonists” lived there. Rings estimated from around the 1580s were very narrow, indicating poor growing conditions. • Recent archaeological digs at eight Coratan, now called Hatteras, sites in coastal North Carolina revealed many artifacts from the time of the “Lost Colony.” A wealth of artifacts, both European and Native American, were found including pottery, pipe pieces, gun flints, lead shop, wine bottles, beads, rolled copper, deer teeth and more. Two English coins, copper farthings, from the 1670s were also found among the artifacts. Theories As to What Became of the Lost Colony What happened to the Roanoke colony has been debated for 400 years and many theories have been made. Some possibilities are: The Colonists Were Killed by the Spanish. Spain and England were enemies at the time of the lost colony and Spain may have resented an intrusion by the English into what they felt was their territory. However, documents recently found in Spanish archives indicate that although the Spaniards were aware of, and even knew the location of the Roanoke colony, there was never any attempt made to attack it. The Colonists Were Killed by Indians. Leading credence to this is the story of Powhatan, the father of Pocahontas, who told Jamestown leader John Smith that the Roanoke colonists had gone to live with a Chesapeake tribe near present day Virginia Beach. During an attack on this tribe by Powhatan’s confederation, all the colonists were killed save “four men, two Boys, and one young maid.” As proof, Powhatan “showed a musket barrel and a brass mortar, and certain pieces of iron which had been theirs.” The Colonists Attempted a Return to England and Were Lost at Sea. This is highly unlikely. The boats left behind were small and were unsuitable for ocean travel. Even if an attempt was made, the boats could have only held a small number and the majority of settlers would still have been left behind. The Colonists All Died as a Result of Disease or Famine. Neither of these is beyond the realm of possibility although it has been reasonably argued that neither, in all likelihood, would have destroyed the entire colony. The Most Popular Theory Concerning the Lost Colony Although the above theories all have their advocates, the most popular scenario is also one of the oldest. This is the idea that the colonists, for reasons unknown, dispersed and eventually assimilated into the various native tribes. Soon after the establishment of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, neighboring Indians told the new colonists stories of white skinned people with houses of stone living in the interior regions or of “men like thee” living with other tribes. Similar reports of white skinned people living among Indians continued throughout the 1600s and 1700s. In 1709, historian John Lawson reported that the Hatteras (Croatoan) Indians “tell us, that several of their Ancestors were white People…..the Truth of which is confirmed by gray eyes being found frequently among these Indians, and no others.” READ THIS NEXT No one knows what happened to the “Lost Colonists” of Roanoke Island — but that has only made their story more interesting.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The History of the Jamestown Colony: Seventeenth-Century and Modern Interpretations
    The History of the Jamestown Colony: Seventeenth-Century and Modern Interpretations A Senior Honors Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for graduation with research distinction in History in the undergraduate colleges of the Ohio State University By Sarah McBee The Ohio State University at Mansfield June 2009 Project Advisor: Professor Heather Tanner, Department of History Introduction Reevaluating Jamestown On an unexceptional day in December about four hundred years ago, three small ships embarked from an English dock and began the long and treacherous voyage across the Atlantic. The passengers on board envisioned their goals – wealth and discovery, glory and destiny. The promise of a new life hung tantalizingly ahead of them. When they arrived in their new world in May of the next year, they did not know that they were to begin the journey of a nation that would eventually become the United States of America. This summary sounds almost ridiculously idealistic – dream-driven achievers setting out to start over and build for themselves a better world. To the average American citizen, this story appears to be the classic description of the Pilgrims coming to the new world in 1620 seeking religious freedom. But what would the same average American citizen say to the fact that this deceptively idealistic story actually took place almost fourteen years earlier at Jamestown, Virginia? The unfortunate truth is that most people do not know the story of the Jamestown colony, established in 1607.1 Even when people have heard of Jamestown, often it is with a negative connotation. Common knowledge marginally recognizes Jamestown as the colony that predates the Separatists in New England by more than a dozen years, and as the first permanent English settlement in America.
    [Show full text]
  • Great Cloud of Witnesses.Indd
    A Great Cloud of Witnesses i ii A Great Cloud of Witnesses A Calendar of Commemorations iii Copyright © 2016 by The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America Portions of this book may be reproduced by a congregation for its own use. Commercial or large-scale reproduction for sale of any portion of this book or of the book as a whole, without the written permission of Church Publishing Incorporated, is prohibited. Cover design and typesetting by Linda Brooks ISBN-13: 978-0-89869-962-3 (binder) ISBN-13: 978-0-89869-966-1 (pbk.) ISBN-13: 978-0-89869-963-0 (ebook) Church Publishing, Incorporated. 19 East 34th Street New York, New York 10016 www.churchpublishing.org iv Contents Introduction vii On Commemorations and the Book of Common Prayer viii On the Making of Saints x How to Use These Materials xiii Commemorations Calendar of Commemorations Commemorations Appendix a1 Commons of Saints and Propers for Various Occasions a5 Commons of Saints a7 Various Occasions from the Book of Common Prayer a37 New Propers for Various Occasions a63 Guidelines for Continuing Alteration of the Calendar a71 Criteria for Additions to A Great Cloud of Witnesses a73 Procedures for Local Calendars and Memorials a75 Procedures for Churchwide Recognition a76 Procedures to Remove Commemorations a77 v vi Introduction This volume, A Great Cloud of Witnesses, is a further step in the development of liturgical commemorations within the life of The Episcopal Church. These developments fall under three categories. First, this volume presents a wide array of possible commemorations for individuals and congregations to observe.
    [Show full text]
  • Pocahontas's Two Rescues and Her Fluid Loyalty
    言語・地域文化研究 第 ₂6 号 2020 103 Pocahontas’s Two Rescues and Her Fluid Loyalty Hiroyuki Tsukada ポカホンタスの二つの助命と忠誠心の揺らぎ 塚田 浩幸 要 旨 ポカホンタスは、二度、ジョン・スミスの命を救った。一度目は有名な助命で、1607 年 12 月、インディアンの首長パウハタンによる処刑の寸前に、ポカホンタスが捕虜スミ スに自分の体をなげうって助命をした。これは、スミスの死と生まれ変わりを象徴的に 意味し、入植者をインディアンの世界に迎え入れる儀式で、ポカホンタスはスミスを救 うというあらかじめ決められた役割を担った。この一度目の助命の真偽については長ら く論争が行なわれてきたが、スミスが 1608 年 6 月の報告書簡でポカホンタスを「比類な き人物」と高く評価できたという事実は、助命が実際に起きたことを示している。その 6 月の時点で、スミスは助命の他に、取引や物資の提供と人質解放交渉の場面でポカホ ンタスと会う機会を持っていたが、それらの場面においては、スミスが「比類なき人物」 と評価することができるほどの行動をポカホンタスがとっていなかったからである。そ して、スミスがその報告書簡でポカホンタスを紹介したのは、入植事業の宣伝のために インディアンとの平和友好をアピールするねらいがあった。つまり、スミスに批判的な 研究者が主張するように、スミスがポカホンタスの人気にあやかって自分の名声をあげ るために助命を捏造したのではなく、助命に感銘を受けたスミスがポカホンタスの人気 を作り上げたといえるのである。 パウハタンは、一度目の助命でポカホンタスをインディアンと入植者の平和友好のシ ンボルとして仕立て上げ、その後の平和的な外交の場面にもポカホンタスを同行させて いた。しかしながら、二度目の助命は、パウハタンの外交方針に逆らって、ポカホンタ ス自身の意思によって行なわれた。1609 年 1 月、インディアンと入植者の関係が悪化す るなか、パウハタンがスミスを本当に襲おうとしているところをポカホンタスがスミス に密告して救った。この二つの助命のあいだの期間、ポカホンタスは入植者と頻繁に会 うなかで理解を深め、パウハタン連合のインディアンとしての忠誠心に揺らぎを生じさ せていたのである。つまり、ポカホンタスは、単なるパウハタンの遣いとしての平和友 好のシンボルであることをやめ、自らを平和友好の使者として確立させるに至ったので ある。 本稿の著作権は著者が保持し、クリエイティブ・コモンズ表示 4.0 国際ライセンス（CC-BY）下に提供します。 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.ja 104 論文 ポカホンタスの二つの助命と忠誠心の揺らぎ （塚田 浩幸） Table of contents 1. Introduction 2. A special relationship between Pocahontas and John Smith 3. Refutation of all existing theories 4. Demonstration of the veracity of the rescue 5. Conclusion 1. Introduction Pocahontas saved John Smith twice. The frst instance came in December 1607, when she symbolically ofered her own head to save Smith’s
    [Show full text]
  • Outdoor Theatre in North Carolina Lagniappe
    * Lagniappe *Lagniappe (lan-yap, lan yap ) n. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. [Louisiana French] William Joseph Thomas, Assistant Director for Collections and Scholarly Communications, Joyner Library, East Carolina University From “The Lost Colony” to “Unto These Hills”: Outdoor Theatre in North Carolina ummertime is high season for outdoor dramas, and North Carolina has a rich history of Sthem. Many NC natives have at- tended a production of “The Lost Colony” in Manteo or “Unto These Hills” in Cherokee. Other outdoor dramas in our state include “Strike at the Wind,” in Pembroke; “Horn in the West,” in Boone; “Tom Dooley: A Wilkes County Legend,” in Wil- kesboro; “First for Freedom,” in Halifax; and “From this Day Forward,” in Valdese. Shakespeare has his place in North Carolina too, from Ashe- ville’s Montford Park Players to Wilm- ington’s Cape Fear Shakespeare. The first, and arguably best-known, of North Carolina’s outdoor dramas is “The Lost Colony.” Written by Pu- litzer prize-winning NC native Paul Figure 1: Andy Griffith in the The Lost Colony, 1950, from Joyner Library Digital Collections, Green to commemorate its 350th an- http://digital.lib.ecu.edu/34133. niversary, “The Lost Colony” tells the story of the intended settlement of Colony” has entertained millions of around Robeson County from 1864 1587 and subsequent disappearance audience members and provided op- to 1872.3 Written by NCCU profes- of the 117 English colonists, includ- portunity for some 5,000 actors, in- sor of drama Randolph Umberger, ing Virginia Dare, first English child cluding favorite North Carolina son “Strike at the Wind” was performed born in the New World.1 Opening Andy Griffith.
    [Show full text]
  • The Contribution of Ralph Hamor's True Discourse to the Establishment of the English Colony in America
    W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1992 Selling America in the Seventeenth Century: The Contribution of Ralph Hamor's True Discourse to the Establishment of the English Colony in America Sibley Judson Smith College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Smith, Sibley Judson, "Selling America in the Seventeenth Century: The Contribution of Ralph Hamor's True Discourse to the Establishment of the English Colony in America" (1992). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539625711. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-9acf-4z41 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SELLING AMERICA IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY: THE CONTRIBUTION OF RALPH HAMOR'S TRUE DISCOURSE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ENGLISH COLONY IN VIRGINIA A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the American Studies Program The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Sibley Judson Smith, Jr. November 1992 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts thor Approved, November 1992 Thad W. Tate Robert Gross Cary Cars>6h Vice-President, Research Colonial Williamsburg Foundation DEDICATION This is dedicated to the memory of my father, "S.J.” Smith, S.K.C., U.S.N., Ret., my first American Hero, who introduced me to the world of adventure in the history of our country.
    [Show full text]
  • Hclassification
    Form No. 10-306 (Rev. 10-74) J, UN1TEDSTATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR FEDERAL PROPERTIES SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOW TO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS ____________TYPE ALL ENTRIES - COMPLETE APPLICABLE SECTIONS___________ | NAME HISTORIC Lane's New Fort in Virginia/Cittie of Raleigh AND/OR COMMON ~ Fort Raleigh National Historic Site ( \\ ^f I____________ LOCATION STREETS.NUMBER North end of Roanoke Island; 1 mile east of William B. Umstead Memorial Bridge on U.S. 64. —NOT FOR PUBLICATION CITY. TOWN CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Manteo — VICINITY OF First STATE CODE COUNTY CODE North Carolina 37 Dare 055 HCLASSIFICATION CATEGORY OWNERSHIP STATUS PRESENT USE —DISTRICT ^.PUBLIC X-OCCUPIED —AGRICULTURE —MUSEUM _BUILDING(S) —PRIVATE —UNOCCUPIED _ COMMERCIAL 2L.PARK —STRUCTURE _BOTH —WORK IN PROGRESS -^.EDUCATIONAL —PRIVATE RESIDENCE XsiTE PUBLIC ACQUISITION ACCESSIBLE JCENTERTAINMENT —RELIGIOUS —OBJECT _ IN PROCESS —YES. RESTRICTED X.GOVERNMENT —SCIENTIFIC —BEING CONSIDERED X_YES: UNRESTRICTED —INDUSTRIAL —TRANSPORTATION —NO —MILITARY —OTHER: [AGENCY REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS: (If applicable) National Park Service. Department of the Interior, Southeast Regional Office STREET 8» NUMBER 1895 Phoenix Boulevard CITY. TOWN STATE Atlanta VICINITY OF Georgia 30349 LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION COURTHOUSE. REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC. Dare County Courthouse/Register of Deeds STREET & NUMBER Courthouse Building CITY, TOWN STATE Manteo North Carolina 27954 TITLE DATE —FEDERAL —STATE —COUNTY —LOCAL CITY. TOWN STATE DESCRIPTION CONDITION CHECK ONE CHECK ONE —XEXCELLENT —DETERIORATED —UNALTERED X.ORIGINALSITE —GOOD —RUINS JCALTERED —MOVED DATE- —FAIR —UNEXPOSED DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE The boundaries of Fort Raleigh National Historic Site include 159 acres. However, most of this acreage is either developed area, being managed as a natural area or the Elizabethan Gardens maintained by the Garden Club of North Carolina.
    [Show full text]
  • The Colony of Jamestown: Conceptions, Challenges, and Change
    Volume 3 │ Issue 2 │ 2018 The Colony of Jamestown: Conceptions, Challenges, and Change Jennifer Elizabeth Lee California Baptist University California Beta Chapter Vol. 3(2), 2018 Title: The Colony of Jamestown: Conceptions, Challenges, and Change DOI: ISSN: 2381-800X Keywords: Jamestown, colonization, Virginia Company, seventeenth century, American history This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Author contact information is available from [email protected] or [email protected] Aletheia—The Alpha Chi Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship • This publication is an online, peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary undergraduate journal, whose mission is to promote high quality research and scholarship among undergraduates by showcasing exemplary work. • Submissions can be in any basic or applied field of study, including the physical and life sciences, the social sciences, the humanities, education, engineering, and the arts. • Publication in Aletheia will recognize students who excel academically and foster mentor/mentee relationships between faculty and students. • In keeping with the strong tradition of student involvement in all levels of Alpha Chi, the journal will also provide a forum for students to become actively involved in the writing, peer review, and publication process. • More information can be found at www.alphachihonor.org/aletheia. Questions to the editors may be directed to [email protected] or [email protected]. Alpha Chi is a national college honor society that admits students from all academic disciplines, with membership limited to the top 10 percent of an institution’s juniors, seniors, and graduate students. Invitation to membership comes only through an institutional chapter. A college seeking a chapter must grant baccalaureate degrees and be regionally accredited.
    [Show full text]
  • Commonlit | Settling a New World: the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island
    Name: Class: Settling a New World: The Lost Colony of Roanoke Island By National Park Service 2016 The Fort Raleigh National Historic Site is dedicated to the preservation of England’s first New World settlements, as well as the cultural legacy of Native Americans, European Americans, and African Americans who lived on Roanoke Island. In 1585 and 1587, England tried its hand at establishing a colonial presence in North America under the leadership of Sir Walter Raleigh. The attempts were failures on both accounts but they would come to form one of the most puzzling mysteries in early American history: the disappearance of the Roanoke colony. As you read, take notes on what circumstances or mistakes might have put the English settlers at a disadvantage in creating a lasting colony. [1] "About the place many of my things spoiled and broken, and my books torn from the covers, the frames of some of my pictures and maps rotted and spoiled with rain, and my armor almost eaten through with rust." - John White1 on the lost colony of Roanoke Island 1584 Voyage In the late sixteenth-century, England’s primary goal in North America was to disrupt Spanish "John White discovers the word "CROATOAN" carved at Roanoke's shipping. Catholic Spain, under the rule of Philip fort palisade" by Unknown is in the public domain. II,2 had dominated the coast of Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Florida for the latter part of the 1500s. Protestant England, under the rule of Elizabeth I,3 sought to circumvent4 Spanish dominance in the region by establishing colonies in the New World.
    [Show full text]
  • We've Wondered, Sponsored Two Previous Expeditions to Roanoke Speculated and Fantasized About the Fate of Sir Island
    /'\ UNC Sea Grant June/July, 7984 ) ,, {l{HsT4IIHI'OII A Theodor de Bry dtawin! of a John White map Dare growing up to become an Indian princess. For 400 yearS, Or, the one about the Lumbee Indians being descendants of the colonists. Only a few people even know that Raleigh we've wondered, sponsored two previous expeditions to Roanoke speculated and fantasized about the fate of Sir Island. Or that those expeditions paved the way Walter Raleigh's Lost Colony. What happened to for the colonies at Jamestown and Plymouth. the people John White left behind? Historians This year, North Carolina begins a three-year and archaeologists have searched for clues. And celebration of Raleigh's voyages and of the people still the answers elude us. who attempted to settle here. Some people have filled in the gaps with fic- Coastwatc.tr looks at the history of the Raleigh tionalized.accounts of the colonists' fate. But ex- expeditions and the statewide efforts to com- perts take little stock in the legend of Virginia memorate America's beginnings. In celebration of the beginning an July, the tiny town of Manteo will undergo a transfor- Board of Commissioners made a commitment to ready the I mation. In the middle of its already crowded tourist town for the anniversary celebration, says Mayor John season, it will play host for America's 400th Anniversary. Wilson. Then, the town's waterfront was in a state of dis- Town officials can't even estimate how many thousands of repair. By contrast, at the turn of the century more than people will crowd the narrow streets.
    [Show full text]
  • Foundation Document Overview, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
    NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Foundation Document Overview Fort Raleigh National Historic Site North Carolina Contact Information For more information about the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, contact: [email protected] or (252) 473-2111 or write to: Superintendent, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, 1401 National Park Drive, Manteo, NC 27954 Purpose Significance and Fundamental Resources and Values Significance statements express why Fort Raleigh National Historic Site resources and values are important enough to merit national park unit designation. Statements of significance describe why an area is important within a global, national, regional, and systemwide context. These statements are linked to the purpose of the park unit, and are supported by data, research, and consensus. Significance statements describe the distinctive nature of the park and inform management decisions, focusing efforts on preserving and protecting the most important resources and values of the park unit. • The park preserves the site on Roanoke Island where English explorers attempted to create England’s first colonial settlement in the New World in 1585–1587. • Fort Raleigh National Historic Site is the birthplace of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the New World. FORT RALEIGH NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE • Fort Raleigh National Historic Site preserves archeological preserves and interprets the site of the evidence of the first English colonization efforts, and first English Colony in the New World, is supports research on the history and archeology of the the site of the theatrical production, historic site and the associated peoples and events to reveal The Lost Colony, and interprets the information on the Roanoke voyages and resolve the mystery historical events of the the history of the of the lost colony of 1587.
    [Show full text]
  • Tar Heel Junior Historian
    by Sandra Boyd* More than four hundred years ago, and children. Also aboard were two Indians, Europeans wanted to set up Manteo and Wanchese, who had gone to colonies in the New World. For England with Raleigh's previous expedition them, the New World meant the present- and were returning to their home. The pilot day continents of North was a Spaniard, Simon Fernando, and the and South America. What challenging times those must have been! Sir Walter Raleigh, an adventurous English gentleman, sent a group of men to explore the New World. A later expedition established a settlement on Roanoke Island, on the North Carolina coast. In 1586, after enduring winter hardships, lack of food, and disagreements with the Indians, survivors of this colony returned home to England with Sir Francis Drake. Then Raleigh decided to send a second group of colonists. On The baptism of Virginia Dare. April 26,1587, a small fleet set sail from England, hoping to establish governor of the new colony was John White. the first permanent English settlement in the Among the colonists were Governor White's New World. daughter, Eleanor, and her husband, This second group of colonists differed Ananias Dare. The voyage took longer than from the first because it included not only the usual six weeks, and the ships finally men but also women and children. It would anchored off Roanoke Island on July 22. be a permanent colony. The little fleet Once the colonists landed, they began consisted of the ship Lyon, a flyboat (a fast, repairing the houses already there and flat-bottomed boat capable of maneuvering started building new homes.
    [Show full text]
  • Manteo Harbor Report
    A CULTURAL RESOURCE EVALUATION OF SUBMERGED LANDS AFFECTED BY THE 400TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Manteo, North Carolina Conducted By Underwater Archaeology Branch North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources Richard W. Lawrence, Head Leslie S. Bright Mark Wilde-Ramsing Report Prepared by Mark Wilde-Ramsing November, 1983 Abstract Field investigations of the submerged bottom lands at Manteo, North Carolina were carried out by the Underwater Archaeology Branch, Division of Archives and History, Department of Cultural Resources. The purpose of these investigations was to identify historically and/or archaeologically significant cultural materials lying within the area to be affected by construction of a bridge and canal system and berthing area proposed for the 400th Anniversary Celebration (1984 to 1987) on Roanoke Island. Initially, a systematic survey of the project area was performed using a proton precession magnetometer to isolate magnetic disturbances, any of which might be generated by cultural material. Following this, a diving and probing search was conducted on isolated magnetic targets to determine the source. With the exception of the remains of a sunken vessel, Underwater Site #0001ROS, all magnetic disturbances were attributed to cultural debris of recent origin (twentieth century) and were determined historically and archaeologically insignificant. Recommendations for the sunken vessel located on the south side of the proposed berthing area are (1) complete avoidance of the site during construction activities, or (2) further
    [Show full text]