All colonies were founded to provide Great Britain with natural resources or to become a commercial source to the Mother Country. This was known as Mercantilism. In 1587, Sir Walter Raleigh outfitted a ship with 91 men, 17 women, and 9 children and sent them on their way to the shores of Chesapeake Bay. Strong winds blew the expedition off course and they landed on an island off the coast of what would become North Carolina. The island was Roanoke. The settlers attempted to establish a colony while the ship returned to England for supplies. Three years would go by before a supply ship could return to Roanoke. When Raleigh's agents found the colony, all that was left were abandoned buildings and the word "CROATOAN" carved on one of the buildings. The men assumed the settlers had moved to Croatan Island near Cape Hatteras. But sailing there, they found no trace of the colonists. Some historians think the settlers could not survive on their own and they moved in with some local Indians, the Lumbee Tribe. The members of the Lumbee Tribe today claim that is what happened.
Roanoke Island was established in 1587 by English settlers led by John White, who founded the Roanoke Colony. This colony ultimately vanished, with its fate becoming one of the greatest mysteries in American history.
The Roanoke Island Colony was founded in 1585.
Roanoke colony was founded in 1585 by the English on Roanoke Island in present-day North Carolina.
John White
The unsuccessful English settlement at Roanoke Island was known as the "Lost Colony" due to the mysterious disappearance of its inhabitants in the late 16th century.
Roanoke was named after the Roanoke Island in North Carolina, where the first English colony in the New World was established in 1585.
Lost Colony
Roanoke Island in what is now North Carolina
Sir Walter Raleigh.
is founded at Roanoke Island
In 1587, John White's colony, also known as the "Lost Colony," departed for Roanoke Island. White was an English artist and early settler of the Roanoke Colony in present-day North Carolina.
The English decided to settle on Roanoke Island because they wanted to establish a permanent colony in the New World. It was chosen for its strategic location on the Atlantic coast and potential for trade with Native Americans. Additionally, the island's natural resources and fertile land were suitable for agricultural pursuits.