Roanoke In April 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh assembled 5 ships with 600 soldiers under the command of his cousin Sir Richard Grenville who sailed to North America. After a rough and difficult crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, the fleet landed on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. By June the crew and soldiers started exploring the region. Grenville sailed back to England to gain additional supplies and settlers, while Ralph Lane, a veteran soldier, was left to build a fort on Roanoke Island. During the next year Lane and his men explored the region. They made contact with Native Americans and heard stories of possible gold (copper) mines further inland, By June 1586, Lane and his men decided to abandon Roanoke Island. Hostilities between the men and the Native Americans had grown and the Native Americans Mend south of Recnoke Ilan stopped providing food to the Englishmen in which Theodore de Bry/lohn Carter Brown they relied on to survive. The same month, Lane and Library/Public Domain, his men returned to England and reported to Raleigh that a settlement at Chesapeake Bay would be more advantageous because of its deep ports and possible gold mines. By April 1587, Raleigh sent another expedition to North America under the command of John White. John White with his family and 118 men set sail to Chesapeake Bay to establish a settlement called the City of Raleigh. The crew responsible for transporting White, put the men and White's family at Roanoke Island and refused to take them any further. A colony was established at Roanoke Island, but after six weeks on the island White returned to England to gain more supplies and settlers. White returned to England but was unable to find the funding to sail back with the supplies and settlers needed for the colony. A war with Spain stopped White from returning to Roanoke Island. It took three years before White could return to the island. When he reached Roanoke Island the settlement had disappeared. There was no sign of the settlers which included White's daughter and granddaughter. The settlers had vanished leaving behind a message on a tree that stated “CRO” or “CROATOAN.” Over the years there have been many theories on what happened to the “Lost colony of Roanoke Island.”This image depicts John White returning to the Roanoke Colony in 1590 to discover the settlement abandoned. William Cullen Bryant/Wiki Commons/Public DomainSource 2 Discoveries at Cape Creek. Cape Creek is a creek located near a live oak forest on Pamlico Sound. This was the site of the Croatoan, a Native American tribe who had settled there and developed a town center and trading hub. Archeologists over the years have completed multiple digs in this region and found many different artifacts that may point to the reason why the settlers at Roanoke Island disappeared. At the Cape Creek site, archeologists discovered a large iron bar and a large copper ingot". Both of these artifacts were found buried in layers of earth that can be dated back to the 1500s. Archeologists believed that Native Americans during this time did not have the technology to develop such items made of iron or copper. Archeologists believe that these are trade items and that it appears that the lost settlers of Roanoke Island may have assimilated” with the Native Americans but kept their goods. ingot: a block of metal. assimilated: to absorb into the cultural tradition of a population or group.Source 3 Adapted from “Examination of patches on a map of the east coast of North America by John White” By Janet Ambers, Joanna Russell, David Saunders and Alice Rugheimer. This image depicts a map by John White that had patches ‘covering certain parts of the map. British Library/Public Domain Official Release Portions of a unique late 16th-century map in the British Museum (which documents voyages to North America for Sir Walter Raleigh}, have recently been examined to reveal unseen lines and symbols that have been hidden for centuries, ‘The first patch appears to have been applied mainly to allow the artist to alter the coastline. The second patch offers even more exciting finds. It appears to cover a large ‘fort’ symbol in bright red and bright blue and has @ very faint (just barely visible to the naked eye) but much smaller version of a similar shape on top. There is also a red circle under the patch that may represent an Indian town. ‘Scholars of the North Carolina-based First Colony Foundation note that one of the altered portions of the map is an area explored by Raleigh’s colonists in 1585 and 1586 and where the 1587 “lost colony” may have tried to resettle to a location near Jamestown.Source 4 Shortage of Food and Disease In 1586 Ralph Lane and his men returned to England because they had run out of food and supplies. In 1587, John White had to leave his family and his newly born child to go back to England to source new provisions? and supplies at Roanoke Island. Later, at the Jamestown, colony, the colony had no way to trade or bargain for food from the Native Americans. The colony soon run out of its winter reserve and a period of famine occurred. This period of time was called the “starving time,” and approximately 160 of the 215 colonists died at Jamestown during this time Roanoke Island was very similar to the conditions of Jamestown. Jamestown was located close to a swamp which made the water unsafe to drink. The climate was very hot and humid, which allowed disease carrying mosquitoes and flies to breed to a high number. With lack of food nutritious food and safe drinking water, many colonists of Jamestown died of diseases such as scurvy, typhoid, and dysentery. Aprovisions: supplies of food, drink, or equipment.