Roanoke Colony
The Roanoke Colony were two attempts by Sir Walter Raleigh to found the first permanent English settlement in North America. The first colony was established at Roanoke Island in 1585 as a military outpost, and was evacuated in 1586. The more famous second colony, known as the Lost Colony, began when a new group of settlers under John White arrived on the island in 1587; a ship in 1590 found the colony abandoned. The fate of the 112 to 121 colonists remains largely unknown.
Roanoke Colony was founded by Governor Ralph Lane in 1585 on Roanoke Island in present-day Dare County, North Carolina. Poor relations with some of the local Native American tribes and a lack of supplies troubled Lane's colony. 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. A second expedition led by John White landed on the island in 1587. Sir Walter Raleigh had sent him to establish the "Cittie of Raleigh" on the Chesapeake Bay.
During a stop to check on Grenville's men, ship's pilot Simon Fernandes forced White and his colonists to remain on Roanoke. White returned to England with Fernandes, intending to bring more supplies in 1588. The Anglo-Spanish War delayed his return to Roanoke until 1590, and he found the settlement fortified but abandoned. The 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. That attempt became known as the "Lost Colony".
Speculation that the colonists had assimilated with nearby Indian tribes appears in writings as early as 1605. 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. Interest in the matter fell until 1834, when George Bancroft published his account in A History of the United States. Bancroft's description of the colonists cast them as foundational figures in American culture, particularly White's infant granddaughter Virginia Dare, and it captured the public imagination.
Background
The Outer Banks were explored in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, who mistook Pamlico Sound for the Pacific Ocean, and concluded that the barrier islands were an isthmus. Recognizing this as a potential shortcut to China, he presented his findings to King Francis I of France and King Henry VIII of England, neither of whom pursued the matter.In 1578, Queen Elizabeth I granted a charter to Sir Humphrey Gilbert to explore and colonize territories "unclaimed by Christian kingdoms". Gilbert had helped to crush the first of the Desmond Rebellions in Ireland's Munster province in the early 1570s. The terms of the charter granted by the Queen were vague, although Gilbert understood it to give him rights to all territory in the New World north of Spanish Florida. Led by Gilbert, the English briefly claimed St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1583, as the first English territory in North America at the royal prerogative of Queen Elizabeth I, but Gilbert was lost at sea on his return journey to England.
Following Gilbert's death in 1583, Queen Elizabeth divided the charter between his brother Adrian Gilbert, and his half-brother Sir Walter Raleigh. Adrian's charter gave him the patent on Newfoundland and all points north, where geographers expected to eventually find a long-sought Northwest Passage to Asia. Raleigh was awarded the lands to the south, though much of it was already claimed by Spain. Richard Hakluyt, however, had by this time taken notice of Verazzano's "isthmus" – located within Raleigh's claim – and was campaigning for England to capitalize on the opportunity.
Raleigh's charter, issued on March 25, 1584, specified that he needed to establish a colony by 1591, or lose his right to colonization. He was to "discover, search, find out, and view such remote heathen and barbarous Lands, Countries, and territories... to have, hold, occupy, and enjoy". It was expected that Raleigh would establish a base from which to send privateers on raids against the treasure fleets of Spain.
Despite the broad powers granted to Raleigh, he was forbidden to leave the queen's side. Instead of personally leading voyages to the Americas, he delegated the missions to his associates and oversaw operations from London.
Amadas–Barlowe expedition
Raleigh quickly arranged an expedition to explore his claim. It departed England on April 27, 1584. The fleet consisted of two barques; Philip Amadas was captain of the larger vessel, with Simon Fernandes as pilot, while Arthur Barlowe was in command of the other. There are indications that Thomas Harriot and John White may have participated in the voyage, but no records survive which directly confirm their involvement.The expedition employed a standard route for transatlantic voyages, sailing south to catch trade winds, which carried them westward to the West Indies, where they collected fresh water. The two ships then sailed north until July 4, when they sighted land at what is now called Cape Fear. The fleet made landfall on July 13 at an inlet north of Hatorask Island, which was named "Port Ferdinando" after Fernandes, who discovered it.
The Native Americans in the region had likely encountered, or at least observed, Europeans from previous expeditions. The Secotan, who controlled Roanoke Island and the mainland between Albemarle Sound and the Pamlico River, soon made contact with the English and established friendly relations. The Secotan chieftain, Wingina, had recently been injured in a war with the Pamlico, so his brother Granganimeo represented the tribe in his place.
Upon their return to England in the autumn of 1584, Amadas and Barlowe spoke highly of the tribes' hospitality and the strategic location of Roanoke. They brought back two natives: Wanchese, a Secotan, and Manteo, a Croatan whose mother was the chieftain of Croatoan Island. The expedition's reports described the region as a pleasant and bountiful land, alluding to the Golden Age and the Garden of Eden, although these accounts may have been embellished by Raleigh.
Queen Elizabeth was impressed with the results of Raleigh's expedition. In 1585, during a ceremony to knight Raleigh, she proclaimed the land granted to him "Virginia" and proclaimed him "Knight Lord and Governor of Virginia". Sir Walter Raleigh proceeded to seek investors to fund a colony.
Lane colony
For the first colony in Virginia, Raleigh planned a largely military operation focused on the exploration and evaluation of natural resources. The intended number of colonists was 69, but approximately 600 men were sent in the voyage, with about half intended to remain at the colony, to be followed by a second wave later. Ralph Lane was appointed governor of the colony, and Philip Amadas would serve as admiral, although the fleet commander Sir Richard Grenville led the overall mission. Civilian attendants included Joachim Gans, metallurgist, Thomas Harriot, a scientist, and John White, an artist. Manteo and Wanchese, returning home from their visit to England, were also passengers on the voyage.Voyage
The fleet consisted of seven ships: The galleass Tiger, the flyboat Roebuck, Red Lion, Elizabeth, Dorothy and two small pinnaces.On April 9, 1585, the fleet departed Plymouth, heading south through the Bay of Biscay. A severe storm off the coast of Portugal separated Tiger from the rest of the fleet and sank one of the pinnaces. Fortunately, Fernandes had a plan for such an occurrence, wherein the ships would meet up at Mosquetal, on the south coast of Puerto Rico. Proceeding alone, Tiger made good speed for the Caribbean, arriving at the rendezvous point on May 11, ahead of the other ships.
While awaiting the fleet, Grenville established a base camp, where his crew could rest and defend themselves from Spanish forces. Lane's men used the opportunity as practice for building the fortifications that would be needed at the new colony. The crew also set about replacing the lost pinnace, forging nails and sawing local lumber to construct a new ship. Elizabeth arrived on May 19, shortly after the completion of the fort and pinnace.
The remainder of the fleet never arrived at Mosquetal. At least one of the ships encountered difficulties near Jamaica and ran out of supplies, causing its captain to send twenty of his crew ashore. Eventually Roebuck, Red Lion, and Dorothy continued to the Outer Banks, arriving by mid-June. Red Lion left about thirty men on Croatoan Island and departed for privateering in Newfoundland. In the meantime, Grenville established contact with local Spanish authorities, in the hopes of obtaining fresh provisions. When the Spanish failed to deliver the promised supplies, Grenville suspected they would soon attack, so he and his ships abandoned the temporary fort.
Grenville captured two Spanish ships in the Mona Passage, adding them to his fleet. Lane took one of these ships to Salinas Bay, where he captured salt mounds collected by the Spanish. Lane again built fortifications to protect his men as they brought the salt aboard. Grenville's ships then sailed to La Isabela, where the Spanish set aside hostilities to trade with the well-armed English fleet. On June 7, Grenville left Hispaniola to continue to the Outer Banks.
The fleet sailed through an inlet at Wococon Island on June 26. Tiger struck a shoal, ruining most of the food supplies and nearly destroying the ship. There are indications that Grenville's fleet was supposed to spend the winter with the new colony, perhaps to immediately begin using it as a privateering base. The wreck of Tiger, however, made that impossible. The remaining provisions could not support a settlement as large as had been planned. Moreover, the shallow inlets of the Outer Banks made the region unsuitable as a base for large ships. The colony's top priority would now be to locate a better harbour.
After repairs, Tiger continued with the rest of the fleet to Port Ferdinando, where they reunited with Roebuck and Dorothy. The men left behind by Red Lion were presumably also located during this time. On August 5, John Arundell took command of one of the faster vessels and set sail for England, to report the expedition's safe arrival.