The “First” Colony That Arrived Millennia Late

Transcript

1. 01

   CROATOAN was carved beside the entrance of an abandoned English colony.

2. 02

   English settlement was one chapter in Roanoke's much older human history.

3. 03

   Algonquian peoples lived there for thousands of years before the colony attempt.

4. 04

   In 1583, Raleigh got a royal grant to occupy North America. The grant required a settlement within six years.

5. 05

   The first expedition reached America in July, then sailed 120 miles to seek entry.

6. 06

   In 1587, Simon Fernandes refused to take colonists farther up the coast.

7. 07

   The settlers intended Chesapeake Bay but reached Roanoke in July 1587.

8. 08

   The voyage included 118 men, women, and children.

9. 09

   Virginia Dare, born August 1587, was called the New World's first English child.

10. 10

    Then a major drought struck the Outer Banks in 1587, lasting three years. It left Algonquian communities without enough food to trade.

11. 11

    Threats, unreliable food, and winter pressure made John White seek England's help. He left Roanoke in late August, after slightly more than a month.

12. 12

    White couldn't return until 1590, when his expedition first saw smoke near Roanoke.

13. 13

    Inside, the returning governor found it changed, his belongings ruined.

14. 14

    White found his books torn from their covers, with picture frames spoiled by rain.

15. 15

    Houses were dismantled, not destroyed, and a high palisade enclosed the site. There was no clear sign of violence.

16. 16

    White found the letters C.R.O. carved in a tree, with no cross above.

17. 17

    That cross was the distress signal he had instructed the colonists to leave.

18. 18

    Modern archaeology found unlinked English artifacts near Albemarle Sound.

19. 19

    The National Park Service says the colony's fate is unproven.

20. 20

    Croatoan named a people and place, but lost anchors ended White's attempt. The clue remains unresolved, waiting beyond dark water.

Sources

• John White Returns to Roanoke; an excerpt from "The fift voyage of Master John White into the West Indies and parts of America called Virginia, in the yeere 1590" (1600) - Encyclopedia Virginiaencyclopediavirginia.orgprimary
• Brochure - Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)nps.govsecondary
• Sir Walter Raleigh'stile.loc.govsecondary
• 1587: The Lost Colony - Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)nps.govsecondary
• The Lost Colony - Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)nps.govsecondary
• Major Theories of the Lost Colony - Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)nps.govsecondary
• Roanoke Colony found deserted | August 18, 1590 | HISTORYhistory.comsecondary