The Legend of the Lost Colony of Roanoke: The Croatoan Inscription, the Lost English Settlers, and the Mystery of the Wilderness
The Colony of the Outer Banks In the late sixteenth century, under the royal charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I to the explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, the first English attempts to establish a permanent settlement in North America were launched on the shores of modern North Carolina. In 1587, a group of 115 English men, women, and children, led by Governor John White , landed on the sandy island of Roanoke . Shortly after their arrival, the governor's daughter gave birth to Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the New World. However, faced with the hostility of the local tribes and the scarcity of supplies, White was forced to return to England to seek assistance. Due to the outbreak of the Anglo-Spanish War and the attack of the Spanish Armada, the governor was delayed in England for three years. When he finally returned to Roanoke in August 1590, he found the settlement completely abandoned. The houses had been dismantled, the fort was empty, and there was no trace o...