Gabriela B.

 The Lost Colony

of Roanoke

 

Roanoke is an island  off the coast of North Carolina, but what
happened to Roanoke? No one knows what happened to it and
its rulers and settlers that lived there, it is a mystery. That is why
it is called “The Lost Colony,” But in the meantime, have you ever
took the time to think about what it would be like to live in Roanoke
in the Colonial times? If someone asked me that question, I do not
know what I would say. Well, today I am sharing with you some of
my research about Roanoke.  

Why did the People Come to Roanoke?

Have you ever wondered how and why people used to come
and find settlements in the colonial times? There are a lot of
reasonable answers out there, and I will try to find the most
reasonable one. Well, I will be talking about why the people
came to and made the colony Roanoke. One of the most
important reasons why the people came to Roanoke was
because they wanted to discover new resources to build off
from. When they settled in they had a lot of new resources to
pick from. Roanoke was said to offer valuable resources and
riches, such as furs, silver and even gold! Queen Elizabeth the
1st sent settlers to North America to form a permanent English
colony in 1585. The queen wanted to form a permanent colony
to have a base in North America due to the war with Spain. The
colony, Roanoke, was founded by Sir Walter Raleigh. Other
goals for forming the Roanoke Colony were to trade, to find a
trade route to the Pacific Ocean, and to teach the Native
Americans about Christianity.

Challenges and Success!
Researchers have gotten a lot of questions before about
Roanoke, and there are many answers to why they may have
had problems or may not have had  problems with Roanoke.
Yes, they had a lot of problems with the colony Roanoke.
One of the big problem that they had was, With in less than
three years, ALL settlers disappeared without a trace of
footsteps following behind them. No one knows where they
went! They could have traveled anywhere, they also could
have split up into different directions!

John White was the captain of  Roanoke. But one helpless day,
in 1587, supplies in ran short because they could not raise
enough food for everyone. Raleigh sent around 115 new settlers
to Roanoke, including farmers and advanced workers. The
settlers realized that the people from Roanoke would not give
them food. Then they sent Captain John White back to England
to get supplies. Unfortunately, England was in the middle of
fighting in a war with Spain. So that meant John White’s ship
could not leave again; but three years later White’s ship finally
returned to Roanoke,  but there was no sign of settlers. Even
their houses and shelters were gone. All that was left were the
letters CROATOAN carved on a gatepost of a destroyed fort.

That is where it gets the name “The Lost Colony!”       

Although we are unsure what exactly happened to Roanoke,
I am sure it was difficult trying to survive at the time. They
faced many challenges during the short time period that they
were there. Historians are still trying to find out where the
colonists disappeared to. Maybe one day you might be the one
trying to find out what happened to Roanoke and where the
settlers disappeared to, but for now it remains a mystery
called “The lost colony of Roanoke!”