Sir Walter Raleigh, an English adventurer, established the Roanoke Island settlement, the first English stronghold in the New World (Smithsonian Channel). For the initial colonists of Roanoke, there stayed some challenges; they experienced food shortages and Indian raids before sailing back to England on a ship commanded by Sir Francis Drake. Raleigh dispatched a further hundred colonists, led by John White, in 1587 (Smithsonian Channel). White went back to England to get additional supplies, but the conflict with Spain prevented him from returning to Roanoke right away. The island disappeared by the time he eventually came back.
Nearly since their disappearance, the world has conjectured. One possible theory that could explain the event suggests that the colonists relocated to the adjacent Croatoan Island, which today is known as Hatteras Island, based on the enigmatic tree carving (Yolen & Stemple 52). Hatteras Indians lived on the island when the settlement was established. According to a widely accepted view, the colonists rejoined the tribe of Native Americans to make up for the shortage of resources and geographic expertise (Smithsonian Channel).
The absence of remains discovered on Roanoke Island and the undeniable proof that the colony had been meticulously destroyed have a purpose. It implies a premeditated departure, but not one that made it especially simple for anybody seeking to trace them, together with the notes cut into the wood and the letter. Hatteras Island’s ancient name and the name of the tribe who lived there both were Croatoan (Smithsonian Channel). The sailboat that had carried John White back to Roanoke was in danger of being sunk, so he was unable to do additional research despite his conviction. Even if White had been ready to take a gamble, his company was not; it was either go now or remain forever.
Work Cited
Smithsonian Channel. “How Roanoke Vanished Into Thin Air.”YouTube, 2016.
Yolen, J., & Stemple, H. E. (2021). Roanoke, the Lost Colony: An Unsolved Mystery from History. Simon and Schuster.