Top 10 Mysteries of the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island

So what really did happen to the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island? Usually there can four reasons why a colony disappears. They include famine, war, death, and pestilence. Nobody knows what exactly caused the disappearance of the colony. The only thing that is confirmed is that the Spanish were the ones who found the colony.

The Roanoke Colony was formed by the English to start a colony in America. However, the colony never was able to be formed and the people started to vanish slowly. Hence the name Lost Colony. There is a map which shows the location of Roanoke Island colonies and Jamestown.

roanoke-island

The Roanoke Colony was formed in 1584. It was located on Roanoke Island which was then part of North Carolina. The land of Virginia was gifted by Queen Elizabeth I to Sir Walter Raleigh. Two captains namely Captain Arthur Barlowe and Captain Philip Amada where send by Sir Walter Raleigh to find out if people could survive in there. The colonists came with Captain Greenville to settle down there.

Here are some of the 10 mysteries of the lost colony of Roanoke Island.

(1) The settlers were not keen on staying there. But it was Sir Francis Drake who was an English explorer that decided to take the settlers back to England. Captain Greenville returned to the Island only to see that the colonist has left. Before returning to England he left few men on the island.

The Roanoke Island
The Roanoke Island

(2) In 1587, there was another attempt at Roanoke with 115 colonists. It was led by John White. The idea for them was to come and join the settlement which was left by Captain Greenville. But, they came to only find human skeletons.

(3) The first child to be born of the settlement was a girl who was named Virginia Dare. Due to disputes with local tribes many of the people were killed. Probably due to their poor defense skills, they were outnumbered and killed.

(4) This time John White came back to England to prepare for reinforcements and food meant for the people of the colony. When he returned back to the Island all he found was the words “CROATOAN.”

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(5) Due to war with Spain back home, none of the Englishmen were able to come down to the Island. Hence the name the “Lost Colony.”

(6) According to historians, they feel that the colonists have moved to another colony or area. There were several colonies and islands nearby like the Hatteras Island and in the North Carolina. It is also possible that they people were killed or starved to death by other tribes who did not like them staying in there.

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(7) There is also a possibility of them surviving and then joining another tribe for the safety of their own kin and cattle stock.

(8) Roanoke Island was a small island which was only 2 miles wide and 8 miles long.

(9) In 2002 a bridge was built to Roanoke Island known as the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge.

(10) It is also said that they drowned due to storms or floods occurring in the area.

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