Roanoke Colony

Roanoke Colony
Colony of England
1585–1590
19th-century illustration depicting the discovery of the abandoned colony, 1590.
Location of Roanoke Colony within what is now North Carolina
Area
• Coordinates	35°56′13″N 75°42′32″W / 35.93694°N 75.70889°W / 35.93694; -75.70889
Population
• 1585	Approx. 108[a]
• 1587	Approx. 112–121[a]
Government
Governor
• 1585–1586	Ralph Lane
• 1587	John White
Historical era	Elizabethan era
• Established	1585
• Evacuated	1586
• Re-established	1587
• Found abandoned	1590
Today part of	Dare County, North Carolina, US

The establishment of the Roanoke Colony (/ˈroʊənoʊk/ ROH-ə-nohk) was an attempt by Sir Walter Raleigh to found the first permanent English settlement in America. The colony was founded in 1585, but it was visited by a ship in 1590 and the crew found that the colonists had disappeared under unknown circumstances. It has come to be known as the Lost Colony, and the fate of the 112 to 121 colonists remains unknown to this day.

Roanoke Colony was founded by governor Ralph Lane in 1585 on Roanoke Island in present-day Dare County, North Carolina.^[1] Lane's colony was troubled by a lack of supplies and poor relations with some of the local American Indian tribes. A resupply mission by Sir Richard Grenville was delayed, so Lane abandoned the colony and returned to England with Sir Francis Drake in 1586. Grenville arrived two weeks later and also returned home, leaving behind a small detachment to protect Raleigh's claim.^[2]

A second expedition led by John White landed on the same island in 1587 and set up another settlement. Sir Walter Raleigh had sent him to establish the "Cittie of Raleigh" in Chesapeake Bay. That attempt became known as the Lost Colony due to the unexplained disappearance of its population.^[3]

During a stop to check on Grenville's men, flagship pilot Simon Fernandes forced White and his colonists to remain on Roanoke.^[4] White returned to England with Fernandes, intending to bring more supplies in 1588.^[5] The Anglo-Spanish War delayed his return to Roanoke until 1590,^[6] and he found the settlement fortified but abandoned. The cryptic word "CROATOAN" was found carved into the palisade, which White interpreted to mean that the colonists had relocated to Croatoan Island. Before he could follow this lead, rough seas and a lost anchor forced the mission to return to England.^[7]

The fate of the approximately 112–121 colonists remains unknown. Speculation that they had assimilated with nearby Indian communities appears in writings as early as 1605.^[8] Investigations by the Jamestown colonists produced reports that the Roanoke settlers had been massacred, and there were stories of people with European features being seen in Indian villages, but no conclusive evidence was found.^[9]

Interest in the matter fell into decline until 1834, when George Bancroft published his account of the events in A History of the United States. Bancroft's description of the colonists, particularly White's infant granddaughter Virginia Dare, cast them as foundational figures in American culture and captured the public imagination.^[10] Despite this renewed interest, modern research has failed to find archaeological evidence to explain the disappearance of the colonists.^[11]

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