What Happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke:An Unsolved Historical Mystery
The beginnings of European settlement in the Americas are often traced to the Puritans and the founding of the colony at Plymouth. Yet there was a much earlier settlement primarily composed of civilians in the form of the colony of Roanoke, Virginia. Roanoke was founded in 1587 by John White.[footnoteRef:1] White left the colony to obtain more resources and colonists from England and was delayed for three years due to Britain’s war with Spain. When he arrived back on Virginian soil, the entire colony of more than a hundred inhabitants was entirely vacated. The name of a native tribe, “Croatoan” was carved on a post.”[footnoteRef:2] The colony had been plagued by hunger and poor relations with the native population and had apparently fallen victim to some natural or manmade disaster—but what? [1: Andrew Lawler, “The Mystery of Roanoke Endures Yet Another Cruel Twist,” The Smithsonian Magazine, April 7, 2017, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/mystery-roanoke-endures-yet-another-cruel-twist-180962837/] [2: Ibid.]
It was unclear where the colonists had gone, based upon White’s scan of the environment. The settlement did not appear to have been attacked, as the colonists’ structures had been taken down in an apparently orderly fashion. The message would seem to indicate that the tribe had relocated to the Croatoan Island 50 miles to the original colony’s south.[footnoteRef:3] There were also tribes sympathetic to the British in that area and it was assumed that the colonists had perhaps relocated to find assistance from one of those tribes or to flee from a tribe hostile to the British. But although White attempted to do so, it proved to be impossible to retrace their steps. There was no evidence that the colonists had reached the Croatoan Islands or resettled anywhere along the way. [3: Tanya Batsu, “Have We Found the Lost Colony of Roanoke?” National Geographic, December 8, 2013 https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131208-roanoke-lost-colony-discovery-history-raleigh]
According to the instructions left with them by White, the colonists were supposed to carve the name of where they...
In fact most of the Preface consists of questions that are editorially legitimate ("Why did John White take his colonists to Roanoke, and not to Chesapeake Bay as planned?" And "…If the Powhatan didn't kill them, then where were the Lost Colonists?"), and they cry out for answers, which the author attempts to provide throughout the book. What can be said about the substance -- if not the style --
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There is a record of a similar account found in a chronicle of the Spanish voyager to the new world Hernando De Soto (134). Afterward, in Smith's account, Smith says that Powhatan told Smith he was now a 'friend' which would be an unusual way of describing a man Powhatan actually rather than ritually intended to kill. Powhatan then invited him to return to the English settlement to find
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