What happened to Roanoke?

Where is it?

Roanoke

Island is in

Present-day

North Carolina

What happened to Roanoke?

• Sir Walter Raleigh received a charter from Queen Elizabeth to colonize Virginia – good for 10 years

What happened to Roanoke?

• 1st settlement landed in 1585 – supplies were low but expected the following April

• Colonists met Native Americans and things were fine until the colonists accused them of stealing a silver cup, burned Aquascogoc village and executed the village chief

What happened to Roanoke?

• April,1586 the supply ships hadn’t returned so the settlers left with Sir Francis Drake

                                                       

         

What happened to Roanoke?

• July 22, 1587 – 117 colonists arrive led by John White

• August 18 – White’s granddaughter, Virginia Dare was –1st English child born in the New World

• Native Americans are hostile to the new colonists

• White leaves – promises to return with more supplies and colonists

What happened to Roanoke?

• White runs into problems in England and can’t return until 3 years later

• Finds no trace of the colony or the colonists themselves

• Only finds the

word “Croatoan”

scratched into

a tree

What happened to Roanoke?

• Some people believe they were captured or killed by Native Americans

• Some believe they were wiped out by the Spanish

• Some think they were assimilated into local Native American cultures

• Some say they died trying to return to England in the small ship White left them to explore the coast

What happened to Roanoke?

• Some believe they moved to the Chesapeake bay area near where Jamestown would be founded 20 years later

• Chief Powhatan told John Smith he killed a group of people living with an enemy tribe who dressed and talked like Englishmen

• Historical accounts differ on this story, however

What happened to Roanoke?

• What do you think happened to the colonists of Roanoke? Write 1 paragraph, 3 complete sentences, describing what you think happened to the Roanoke colonists and why.