by Suzette Baker

Created on: August 05, 2009   Last Updated: June 10, 2010

 The Roanoke colony was the first English attempt at colonization in North America yet, this endeavor proved to be unsuccessful.  The fate of the colony remains shrouded in mystery but, there are some speculations as to what happened to the colonists.These speculations; however, have failed  to lead to any definitive answers as to what actually happened to the colony and its inhabitants. Did they die out, were they killed by Indians or were they integrated into nearby Indian tribes? These are questions that may likely never be answered.

After the failure of Sir Humphrey Gilbert to establish a colony in North America in 1578, his half-brother Sir Walter Raleigh financed and planned his own endeavor of colonization. Raleigh, who was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, received a charter from the Queen giving him ten years to either establish a colony in North America or lose his rights to colonization. The purpose of the colony was to provide England with riches as well as to set up a base from which privateers could be sent to raid Spanish treasure fleets.

Raleigh sent several expeditions to explore the east coast of North America. One such expedition was led by Phillip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe in 1584. The group was sent to search for a suitable location to settle. They chose the Outer Banks of modern North Carolina since the area was a perfect location from which to attack the Spanish who had already settled to the south and made contact with the local native tribes. Although, Walter Raleigh never visited North America, he did lead expeditions through the swamps of the Orinoco River basin in South America.

In the spring of 1585, an expedition of men, many of whom were veteran soldiers, was sent to settle a colony off the North Carolina coast but due to a lack of supplies and strained relations with the natives, these settlers returned home the next year. Two years later in 1587, Raleigh sent yet another group of one-hundred seventeen settlers to Roanoke. This group, led by John White who had been among the previous expedition, included a number of women and children. The colonists had instructions to pick up the fifteen who had previously been left behind and continue on to the Chesapeake Bay. When the settlers arrived to retrieve the fifteen men, no trace of them could be found except the remains of a single man. The colonists were informed by the Croatoans that the men had been attacked and the nine who had survived had sailed up the coast

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