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.