Slide 2
The establishment of Roanoke colony was the first presence of British presence in America or the New World. The first voyage to Roanoke Island was for observational purposes. Roanoke was an island in today’s North Carolina. Queen Elizabeth I granted Sir Walter Raleigh a patent to colonize America. The first colonists that arrived 1585 were less prepared for the expedition because they run out of food and supplies. John White returned to England with the promise that he would return with supplies and other settlers. White encountered several problems because it was winter and it was a dangerous time to travel. White had to wait till the spring to travel. White arrived in England and gathered the supplies a year later. He left England with the supplies for Roanoke but on their way they were captured by the Spanish and their cargo was seized. White had to return to England again to get new supplies. This was why the settlers run out of supplies for a while. They depended on the natives for food, and they started kidnapping the leaders of the locals for ransom. When they run out of supply, they returned to England.
A second group of colonists arrived in 1584 for military and scientific purposes. They came to explore the lands and did not come to peace terms with the locals. They started taking good lands and resources from the natives. According to an archeologist, the natives drove the colonists out of the land because they could not come to an agreement (Basu, 2013). The third expedition was far more successful; they arrived with women and children, and they had the intention of settling and living in peace with the natives. The third group came with the intention of living in the New World and not for military purposes.
Slide 3
The purpose of establishing Roanoke colony was to explore the America or a new world. The Spanish had already arrived in America and the British did not want them to take all the territories. The arrival at Roanoke was establishing a relation with the natives and start exploration. The British had an intention of a permanent stay and start colonization. The leaders that were put in charge of the establishment of the colony were less prepared and did not have enough supply. The intention to create a running the Roanoke territory encountered different problems such as fewer supplies, food and reinforcement. The people that were put on the colony did not have supplies at the exact time they were promised. The British leaders had to return to England to get supplies, and this took a long time because Roanoke was their only territory in the New World or America.
Slide 4
The failed colonies of Roanoke were because of disagreement and tensions between the natives and the colonists. The first colonists kidnapped the leaders of the natives and went back to England after they run out of food and supplies. The second group of settlers mysteriously disappeared from their settlements. They came to explore the lands and did not come to peace terms with the locals. They started taking good lands and resources from the natives. According to an archeologist, the natives drove the colonists out of the land because they could not come to an agreement. When the third settlers came all the found was a skull of a man and the word “Croatoan” carved on the forts gate. The disappearance of the settlers is unknown till today. The disappearance of the second group of colonists is what brought up the “Lost Colony” as another name for Roanoke.
Slide 5
There have been many hypotheses that are linked with the disappearance of the people from the first two exploration groups. One of the hypotheses linked with the disappearances was being lost at sea. Some scholars say that the people from Roanoke colony left the colony to return to England but never made it back. Also, there might have been integration with the locals. According to some archeologists, because of hunger and lack of supplies the British colonies adapted to the local way of living and integrated with them. Another hypothesis is that the Spanish army could have destroyed the fort since it was abandoned.
Slide 6
Roanoke was the first British fort established in America, and the intention was to explore a new world. The permission to explore was granted by Queen Elizabeth I to Sir Walter Raleigh to start the American conquest. The disappearances of the first two groups of settlers remain a mystery today. When the third settlers came all the found was a skull of a man and the word “Croatoan” carved on the forts gate. Roanoke was successfully rebuilt by the third group of settlers. They were able to live in peace with the natives, and they came to leave permanently and not for military purposes.
Works Cited
Basu, Tanya. "Have We Found the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island?." National Geographic. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131208-roanoke-lost-colony-discovery-history-raleigh/ (accessed October 22, 2014).
Clark, Josh. "The Lost Colony at Roanoke - HowStuffWorks." HowStuffWorks. http://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/roanoke-colony1.htm (accessed October 22, 2014).
Lane, Ralph. "Colony at Roanoke - 1586." Colony at Roanoke - 1586. http://www.nationalcenter.org/ColonyofRoanoke.html (accessed October 22, 2014).
The Lost Colony. "Roanoke Voyages." The Lost Colony. http://thelostcolony.org/roanoke-voyages/ (accessed October 19, 2014).
