How Did John White Influence The Colonists Of Roanoke

There are many theories for the lost colony of Roanoke, but no one knows where they went or what they did.Many have wondered but this is what i learned.

The English colonists on Roanoke Island lived in homes near native villages, but after vanishing without a trace, they are now called the Lost Colony. When John White finally returned to Roanoke Island in 1590, the English colony had vanished, and he allegedly found the words 'CRO ' and 'CROATOAN ' carved on two trees. When White saw that, he thought that the colonists got help from the Croatan Indians on Hatteras Island. The Croatans were peaceful and friendly with the settlers, so the English could have a good relationship with them when the colony was established in 1587. There are many theories about what happened to them: one of them is that they managed to integrate themselves with the Croatan people. Similarily, there were around 25

About 100 colonists left England in early December 1606, on a cold, foggy, wet and nippy day. They were traveling in three ships, these ships were called The Susan Constant, The Godspeed and The Discovery. It took 4 months for them to sail from England until they reached Chesapeake Bay late the next April. John Smith, who was a former mercenary was aboard the ship, he was accompanied by several other members of the Virginia Company. These were people that were part of a group that searched for a suitable settlement site. On May 14, 1607, the ships landed on a narrow peninsula in the James River. This is where they would live their lives in the New World.

Did you know that even though Jamestown was England’s first permanent colony, it was not the first time colonists attempted to make their home in the new world. The Roanoke colony, also known as “The Lost Colony” was founded in 1585. The first couple years seemed to be going well until John White had to sail back to England for supplies. When he returned the whole colony had been deserted, and all 117 had gone missing. White found only a few clues that only add to the mystery of the lost colony. In the mystery behind the Roanoke colony, many archaeologists believe the colony was absorbed into a friendly native american tribe, but there are other explanations on what could’ve happened.

Led by Captain John White, a group of 117 men, women, and children from England arrived in 1587 to establish a new colony on Roanoke Island. Finding the abandoned settlement from the previous expedition in ruins, they

They were given about three weeks of food and supplies. As supplies grew shorter and shorter, White decided to go back to England to bring back more supplies. White set out to England in mid August and landed at Ireland in October. When he landed on Ireland, the United Kingdom was battling the Spanish by ships. The United Kingdom needed every ship possible to defeat the Spanish Armada. In the summer of 1588 the English navy was able to destroy the Spanish Armada. The naval battles ended and White was finally able to get back to his colony. Their ships had man made issues and they left at the peak of Hurricane season which delayed their arrival to Roanoke Colony . “When they arrived at Roanoke Island on August 18, 1590--coincidentally, the third birthday of little Virginia Dare--they found the settlement long abandoned”(“The Voyages”). Since, Virginia Dare was the first born in Roanoke meaning, White had been gone for three years and the colony just disappeared out of thin air. Three years are plenty of time for a colony of a hundred people to assimilate into a new culture. They only left two clues that shared the same

thing to note about the Jamestown colony was in Frethorne’s letter when he stated that, “we took

Roanoke: The Lost Colony, directed by Goeckel, Brendan, in Digging for the Truth (A&E Television Networks, 2006), 44:49 mins

In the early 1600s, Jamestown and Plymouth were the first permanent English and Puritan settlement that were established in the New World. The Virginia Company had sent four boys and 100 men to the New World on 3 ships to spread Christianity to the Natives and seek treasures for England. After 5 months of traveling, these 3 ships entered Chesapeake Bay. The colonists had established Jamestown which was named after their king in England. Another colony named Plymouth, was established a little over a decade later by the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims sailed to the New World on a ship named the Mayflower to mainly escape religious persecution. Eventually, their ship landed in Massachusetts at a place these colonists named Plymouth. These two colonies

James Horn’s, “A Land As God Made It”, tells about the hardships and tragedies the settlers faced as they attempted to make a settlement in Jamestown. Before attempting to settle at Jamestown, England tried to permanently settle in Roanoke, off the coast of North Carolina. The colony was “unsuitable because its shallow waters could not accommodate ocean-going vessels” (Horn 2005, 31). Horn says that the failure of the Roanoke colony occurred for many different reasons; one of the main reasons being that it was not a time for success for the colony. Although the colony failed, it gave impact on the future for settlers to start a new settlement (Horn 2005, 33). Horn says that the reason for Jamestown being explored is unclear and that only a

The colonists of Early Jamestown did not know what they were going to experience in the New World, and they were not prepared. This took place from 1607-1611. The colonists arrived in Chesapeake Bay in 1607. They had hopes to find new land. Sadly, out of the 500 colonists that arrived in Jamestown, 80% died.Just between 1609 and 1610, 110 settlers died from famine and disease. In 1607, there was only one surgeon for hundreds of men. Colonists died in early Jamestown because of three main problems. These problems were Starvation, Native American Relations, and Disease. Listen to how almost 350 settlers died in these five years full of hardships.

The English had come more prepared and well aware of what they were stepping into, they brought provisions and supplies, even though they struggled. It was not until the Jamestown settlement was established in 1607, a full twenty years after John White bade farewell to his colonists, that the next serious attempts where undertaken by the English to find out what happened to the colony in 1587 (Fullam 128). In early 1609, the Royal Council in England received shocking news from Jamestown that Wahunsunacock, Chief Powhatan, had slaughter the 1587 colonist (Fullman 155). Unfortunately, the Powhatan’s cooperation was necessary for the success of the colony (Fullman 157). But 1608, a letter from John Smith was delivered to the Royal Council with evidence that the Powhatan Indians weren’t connected to the Lost Colony. Smith was a very talented leader, but that moment was one of his falls backs, like when his gunpowder mishap caused him to return England in 1609, but his absence demonstrated how important he really was to Jamestown. Following his departure, Jamestown nearly collapsed but when the shipwrecked Sea Venture arrived in May of 1610, Jamestown was back on their feet (Fullam

Looking back to the 1500s, the English had been situating settlements in Ireland and used a familiar model in the New World. The early years of Jamestown were difficult for the settlers. The land was hot, humid, and mosquito-infested, and the settlers were mostly aristocrats and artisans that spent much of their time searching for gold. Those who didn’t die on the trip, died once they arrived from diseases and starvation. In 1607, about 3 ships-each holding more than 100 English passengers, arrived on the Chesapeake Bay region of Virginia. Settlers were excited, given that they would be the first permanent colony in the New World. Most settlers were in search for riches and others in search of a new home. Settlers ranged from the ages of 17 to 35 years old. The first years for the English settlers were harsh and devastating. By 1611, two-thirds of the settlement had died and all hope was lost for the settlers. The 3 main circumstances that caused a majority of English colonists at Jamestown to lose their lives were the environment, the social and religious conflicts with the Natives, and the lack of survival skills.

New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely of English origin, but by the 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. The difference in development occurred because of different religion beliefs, situations the colony was under, and different political views. Starting a colony wasn’t trouble-free. The settlers struggled with: starvation, lack of clean water, disease, and and indigenous people. Some settlers even disappeared almost completely, with the reasoning being unknown. The only thing left of the Roanoke village or “Lost Colony”, was a carving into a tree that read, “Croatoan.” Even today, this is still a mystery.

After researching the documents I have compiled several pieces of evidence. I read data set 3 and found interesting evidence, it says “English settlers first came to Roanoke Island in 1585. Their colony failed, however. They fought with American Indians and they didn’t bring enough supplies.” This supports my theory that the colonists ran out of supplies. Due to lack of farming experience and could not feed themselves and needed to try better soil on an island, I believe that the colonists had no choice but to leave for Croatoan island.