The Lost Colonyof Roanoke

3.H.2 Use historical thinking skills to understand the context of events, people and places.

1: The Beginning It is one of American history's most enduring unsolved mysteries: What happened to the colonists at Roanoke? Since no one knows still, we can all make our own conclusions, based on available evidence.

Here are some facts.

The island and surroundings were first sighted by Europeanswhen English explorers Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe sailed by in 1584, at the behest of Sir Walter Raleigh.

Amadas and Barlowe were so impressed with the island and its location and adaptability for settlement that they convincedtwo of the Roanoke natives (willingly or not) to return to England with them. The presence of natives in the court of England no doubt impressed the monarch, Queen Elizabeth,who responded by giving Raleigh an open ticket to claim all lands in and around Roanoke and the surrounding mainland (which she named after herself). The very next year, a group of 100 men set sail for Roanoke Island.

In a series of events that can be described only as future-predicting, that first group of colonists almost singlehandedly doomed the colony.

First of all, they arrived too late in theseason to plant any crops that would survive the cold winter. Because of that, they had to rely on the supplies that theyhad brought with them, which were not designed to last all winter.

Secondly, they were under the direction of Ralph Lane, a captain in the armed forces. His first priority was to build a

fort;houses were then built around the fort, some with brick but most of wood. Running the colony like a tight ship, Lane alsolooked at the situation around him as a military one. He saw the neighboring Roanoke tribe as possible enemies; and when a dispute over a cup turned violent, it was Lane whoended up killing Wingina, the Roanoke chief.

Lane and his fellow settlers lasted until Sir Francis Drake sailed by in 1586, when they pleaded with him to take themalong. Drake agreed, and the settlers left their new home forgood. Ironically, a supply ship arrived a week later, under the command of Sir Richard Grenville. A total of 15 people from that crew stayed behind, finding a fort built by Lane andhis men.

John White's water-color drawing of the fort which Ralph Lane built in Puerto Rico in May 1585 while the first group of colonists were en route to Roanoke Island.

2. The Second Voyage Even if he knew of the colonists' dissatisfaction with living on Roanoke, Raleigh set up another voyage and transported another group of people from England to Roanoke Island. This time, it was 150 people; this it was men, women, and children. Their leader was John White. They arrived on July 22, 1587, and went in search of the 15 men who had stayed behind two years ago. They found nothing but human bones.

Again, no one thought the worse of this, and the settlers beganto settle in, making improvements on the houses that were already there and building new ones. The Native Americans living on the island were more hostile to the new settlers than they had to previous settlers. In fact, only one group of the several who were living there was friendly in the least. That group was the Croatoans, who wanted peace and understanding between themselves and these new English "neighbors."

A bit of misunderstanding followed, as the Croatoans accused the members of another tribe of killing the 15 menwho had stayed behind. Enraged, White and other Englishmen attacked the town of Dasamonquepeuc, where the suspected killers lived. The only Native Americans the Englishmen found by the time they got there were the Croatoans, who had arrived on the scene and found the other tribe gone. Before things could be sorted, some Croatoans were dead. (It should be mentioned here that Manteo, who had relatives in the Croatoan tribe, played a big part in gettingthe Croatoans and Englishmen together in the first place and then played an equally big part in convincing both sides to avoid further bloodshed after the "mistake.")

Not long after this series of events, the first English settler bornin the New World came into the world, as Eleanor Dare, daughter of Governor John White, gave birth to a daughter, who was called Virginia, Virginia Dare.

Things progressed in settlement, as the settlers planted crops and solidified their hold on their part of the island. Not much is said in the history books about the relations between the English and the Croatoans at this time, so we don't really know whether they became more or less friendly. What we do know is that no more attacks came that month.

As August closed, the settlers decided that they needed more supplies from home. Gov. John White and several other sailors took the fleet of ships home to England to get more food and supplies. After this, nothing more is known for certain about the

fateof the settlers who stayed behind.

The Thirteen American Colonies

3.H.2 Use historical thinking skills to understand the context of events, people and places.

1. Coming to AmericaThe first colonies in North America were along the

eastern coast. Settlers from Spain, France, Sweden, Holland,

and England claimed land beginning in the 17th century.

The struggle for control of this land would continue for

more than ahundred years.

The first permanent settlementin North America was theEnglish colony at Jamestown, in1607, in what is now Virginia.

John Smith and company had come to stay.

The Pilgrims followed, in 1620, and set up a colony at Plymouth, in what is nowMassachusetts.

Other English colonies sprang upall along the Atlantic coast, from Maine in the north to Georgia in the south. Swedish and Dutch colonies took shape in and

around what is now New York.

As more and more people arrived in the New World, more

and more disputes arose over territory. Many wars were

fought in the 1600s and 1700s. Soon, the two countries

with the largest presence were England and France.

The two nations fought for control of NorthAmerica in what Americans call the French and Indian War (1754-1763). England won the war and got control of Canada, as well askeeping control of all the English colonies.

Interactive Link about the French and Indian Warhttp://www.ncdcr.gov/interactive/french_indian_war/index.html

By this time, the English colonies numbered 13.

2. Characteristics of the Colonies

Each colony had its own unique characteristics, but historians lump them into groups based on where they were, why they were founded, and what kinds of industry they had:

New England Colonies

Middle Colonies

Southern Colonies

Rhode IslandConnecticutMassachusettsNew Hampshire

DelawarePennsylvaniaNew YorkNew Jersey

MarylandVirginiaNorth CarolinaSouth CarolinaGeorgia

By and large, the people who settled in the New England Colonies wanted to keep their family unit together and practice their own religion. They were used to doing many things themselves and not depending on other people for much. Some of these people came to New England to make money, but they were not the majority.

The people who founded the Middle Colonies were lookingto practice their own religion (Pennsylvania mainly) or to make money. Many of these people didn't bring their families with them from England and were the perfect workers for the hard work required in ironworks and shipyards.

The founders of the Southern Colonies were, for the most part, out to make money. They brought their families, as did the New England colonists, and they kept their families together on the plantations. But their main motivation was to make the good money that was available in the new American market.

The New England Colonies were largely farming and fishing communities. The people made their own clothes and shoes. They grew much of their own food. Crops like corn and wheat grew in large numbers, and much was shipped to England. Foods that didn't grow in America were shipped from England. Boston was the major New England port.

The Middle Colonies were part agriculture, part industrial. Wheat and other grains grew on farms in Pennsylvania and New York.

Factories in Maryland produced iron, and factories in Pennsylvania produced paper and textiles.

Trade with England was plentiful in these colonies as well.

The Southern Colonies were almost entirely agricultural. The main feature was the plantation, a large plot of land that contained a great many acres of farmland and buildings in which lived the people who owned the land and the people who worked the land. (A large part of the workforce was African slaves, who first arrived in 1619.)

Southern plantations grew tobacco, rice, and indigo, which they sold to buyers in England and elsewhere in America.

3. Beliefs and Revolution The Pilgrims in Massachusetts and the Quakers

in Pennsylvania were examples of people who had left England so they could practice the religion they chose. Maryland and Rhode Island passed laws of religious toleration (meaning that people couldn't be harmed just because their religion was different from other people's).

These American colonists also believed that they had a right to govern themselves. More and more, they believed that they shouldn't have to pay so much in taxes to England, especially since they couldn't serve in the English government and have a say on how high or low those taxes were.

As more and more Americans voiced their concerns over higher and higher taxes, a conflict began to build. The English response was to isolate the colonies from each other, in hopes that the American people would not pull together as a whole. An example of this is the Intolerable Acts, which singled out Massachusetts in general and Boston in particular. One provision of these Acts was to close the port of Boston entirely. This was serious business. Boston was one of the largest ports in America. Closing it meant that Americans couldn't get food and other essentials from England or anywhere else, unless they paid extra for it to be transported from other ports, like New York.

Liberty`s Kids: #02 "The Intolerable Acts" (1/2) (10:51)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fALa2zjlSN0

Liberty`s Kids: #02 "The Intolerable Acts" (2/2) (10:51)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs86WYACbr8&feature=related

But the punishment of Boston backfired. The Americans pulled together as never before. They took up arms against their English governors and fellow soldiers. Even though they had fought for England in the French and Indian War, (George Washington included), they now fought against England for the right to govern themselves. The result was the Revolutionary War, which ended in American victory.

Liberty`s Kids: #06 "The Shot Heard Round the World" (1/2) (10:51) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLLg7l_rSuY&feature=watch_response

Liberty`s Kids: #06 "The Shot Heard Round the World" (2/2) (10:51) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfxrNXOZsYk&feature=related

A new nation was born, one that had its roots in the conflictsbetween several European nations. That new nation wouldhave to make its own way in an angry world.