Raleigh’s Colonies

1039 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Colonization of american indians

In 1492 Christopher Columbus discovered an uncharted land while searching for a short cut to India. Consequently he misnamed the native people in this new land Indians. After this event, the Spanish went on several conquests for gold and wealth found throughout this newly discovered land. The English saw the opportunity of raiding the ships coming back from these lands rich in gold to gain their fortune. Sir Walter Raleigh was the first Englishman to gain a charter to colonize; which he did on a small island off the coast of present day North Carolina known as Roanoke. He attempted three times to colonize this island. Each time different spots due to hostile Indians, lack of supplies, and insufficient support from the English mainland. Each attempt was unsuccessful. Two of these colonies have been lost in time; with few clues to their demise.

On April 27 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh set an expedition, to reconnaissance the Outer Banks of North Carolina to find out if they were a suitable place to make a plantation colony. However, this was just what he presented to people so they would volunteer. His real objective was to setup a naval base where troops could repair ships and get resupplied while they pirated Spanish ships coming and going from the Canary Islands. Sir Philip Amadas lead this reconnaissance team out and brought back reports of fertile lands ready for the taking; he also brought back two natives from the land, Manteo and Wanchese. The inaccurate report he brought back is thought to be the demise of Raleigh’s first attempt of colonizing the land. In reality the land was harsh and filled with Native Indians; it was not a prime spot for a plantation colony. In fact due to the sand bars of the Outer Banks it was also n...

... middle of paper ...

...ented with more care for the colonies. With the English at war with the Spanish and the wealth in privateering was a great distraction which, led to the neglect of the colonies. Also the location of the colony often prevented the English to resupply them. To this day it is still unknown what happened to the last colony. What was done to assist them was simplify done too late. These failures however showed the English all of the things not to when starting a colony and paved the way for the endeavor of future colonies.

Works Cited

Homsher, Deborah. The Rising Shore - Roanoke. n.d. http://www.risingshoreroanoke.com/JohnWhite.htm (accessed February 26, 2012).

John, Marshal. The Life of George Washington. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: C.P. Wayne, 1807.

Kupperman, Karen O. Roanoke The Abandoned Colony. 2nd ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, INC, 1939.

Show More
Related

  • Disappearance of Roanoke: The Lost Colony

    635 Words  | 2 Pages

    When most people think of the early settlement they think of the first successful settlement, Jamestown, but this was not the first settlement in the New World. The settlement at Roanoke was the first attempt to colonize the New World. The settlement at Roanoke is often referred to as the “Lost Colony” because of its unusual disappearance. The reason people often do not know about the first settlement at Roanoke because it was abandoned, forgotten, and lost. The Roanoke settlement was located on an island on the northern coast of what is now North Carolina. A few more than a hundred English men first settled the colony at Roanoke Island in 1584. The conditions were harsh and between the lack of supplies and the troubles with natives of the area the settlement was all but doomed from the start. Three years after the initial settlement was founded, in 1587, more English arrived this time there were one hundred and ten colonists that consisted not just of men, but of women and children as well. Women and children were brought to the New World so that the settlement could become a fully functioning society. Of course this idea obviously did not work out as planned. The war going on in Europe between the English and the Spanish caused a delay of more supplies and people. If there had not been a prolonged delay in the resupplying process the entire course of American history may not have been what we know it to be now. If the war had started any earlier or later then people might have known more about the original first settlement of the New World. All the evidence left when people returned to Roanoke following the war in Europe was the word “CROATOAN” carved into a tree. Historians believe these to be marks left by the Croatoan Indians...

    Read More

  • John White: The Lost Colony Of Roanoke

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1587, John White lead a crew of a hundred and seventeen to the island of Roanoke, hoping to form England’s first colony in America. The travel to Roanoke Island didn't trouble John White and they successfully set anchor on Roanoke in July 22, 1587. The Colony worked out exactly as planned until the colony ran out of supplies, forcing John White to sail back to England to collect more supplies then return home with the supplies. The

    Read More

  • Roanoke Colony Research Paper

    870 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Roanoke colony was established before Jamestown in August of 1587. It was located off the coast of what is today North Carolina. There were two trips taken to the colony before they finally took a group of citizens off. The first one was for the explorers and the second one was for the people who took maps and founded the area. The man in charge of the colony was Sir Walter Raleigh. This was the man who appointed John White as governor of the colony. John White's daughter was pregnant with a baby girl and gave birth on the island August 18, 1587 to the first english baby on American soil. They named her Virginia Dare. Ten days later, John White had left to go get more supplies for the colony from England. There he had gotten caught up in the war that was going on between the Spanish and English naval forces. Queen Elizabeth I called on all naval forces cause John White not to be able to get back to the colony in three

    Read More

  • Roanoke Essay

    666 Words  | 2 Pages

    This all began when Sir Walter Raleigh, a wealthy courtier, sought-after permission from Queen Elizabeth I to establish a colony in North America. On March 25th 1584 he got a charter to start the colony. Raleigh funded and authorized the expedition .He sent two explorers by the names of Phillip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe to claim land for the queen,they departed on the west side of England on April 27th . On May 10 they arrived at the Canaries, a series of islands near the northwest coast of mainland Africa. They arrived at the West Indies on June 10 and stayed there for twelve days then left. On July 4 the explorers saw North American land, they sailed for nine days more looking for an entryway to the sea or river and found one on June 13th. They then set off to explore the land and place it on the map . After they went back two additional journeys there followed after. One group arrived in 1585 and went there for...

    Read More

  • The Colonies by 1763

    617 Words  | 2 Pages

    When all things are considered, one can see the colonies didn't always agree with the way England handled things, in the area of religion, economics, politics, and social structure. Through their determination to obtain a better life for themselves, they ventured away from England and created their own nation over time.

    Read More

  • The Abandoned Colony by Karen Ordahl Kupperman

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thesis: The Roanoke colony proved to be an unsuccessful venture in the New World for England, since leaders of the expedition held the viewpoint that privateering would prove to be the most profitable aspect of founding the new settlements in the West. However future, still unsuccessful attempts to make a permanent colony at Roanoke, helped England understand how to build a prosperous one; and it became a building block for establishing future colonies for England and helped shape the ideas that would help launch their empire.

    Read More

  • The Mystery of the Disappearance of Roanoke

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    When most people think of the early settlement they think of the first successful settlement, Jamestown, but this was not the first settlement in the New World. The settlement at Roanoke was the first attempt to colonize the New World. The settlement at Roanoke is often referred to as the “Lost Colony” because of its unusual disappearance. The reason people often do not know about the first settlement at Roanoke is because it was abandoned, forgotten, and lost. The Roanoke settlement was located on an island on the northern coast of what is now North Carolina. A few more than a hundred English men first settled the colony at Roanoke Island in 1584. The conditions were harsh and between the lack of supplies and the troubles with natives of the area the settlement was all but doomed from the start. Three years after the initial settlement was founded, in 1587, more English arrived this time there were one hundred and ten colonists that consisted not just of men, but of women and children as well. Women and children were brought to the New World so that the settlement could become a fully functioning society. Of course this idea obviously did not work out as planned. The war going on in Europe between the English and the Spanish caused a delay of more supplies and people. If there had not been a prolonged delay in the resupplying process the entire course of American history may not have been what we know it to be now. If the war had started any earlier or later then people might have known more about the original first settlement of the New World. All the evidence left when people returned to Roanoke following the war in Europe was the word “CROATOAN” carved into a tree. Historians believe these to be marks left by the Croatoan Indi...

    Read More

  • American Colonies

    677 Words  | 2 Pages

    When settlers from England came to America, they envisioned a Utopia, where they would have a say in what the government can and cannot do. Before they could live in such a society they would have to take many small steps to break the hold England had on them. The settlers of America had to end a monarchy and start their own, unique, form of government. They also had to find a way that they would have some kind of decision making power. The most important change that the colonies in America had to make was to become a society quite different from that in England.

    Read More

  • Religion In America, 1492-1790

    2179 Words  | 5 Pages

    Be not dismayed at all For scandall cannot doe us wrong, God will not let us fall. Let England knowe our willingnesse, For that our work is good; Wee hope to plant a nation Where none before hath stood. (Morison, pg. 89) Originally, when Christopher Columbus landed on the shores of America en route to Asia, he was not interested in discovering new lands. Most Europeans at the time were looking for a way to get at the oldest part of the Old World, the East Indies.

    Read More

  • Chesapeake Bay Colonies In The Early 1600's

    787 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the early 1600’s there was the development of New England and Chesapeake Bay colonies, and even though they were both settled by people mainly of the English origin by 1700 they became very two distinct societies. As the two colonies evolved, they developed contrasting economies, societies and institutions.

    Read More

  • Advantages Of The British Colonies

    1801 Words  | 4 Pages

    The successes of the British colonies are clear, their dominance in naval warfare allowed for their ability to better supply their colonies, and the geographical location of their colonies allowed them to better supply themselves rather than wait on resupply from Great Britain. However, it is not entirely accurate to say that these are what caused Britain to better other colonial powers when facing similar hardship. It would be more accurate to say that the other colonial powers, France and Spain, lost the battle rather than Britain won it. Their methods were different, but the key difference lied in France’s inability to truly value its colonies. The British colonies not only were of large importance to the King of England, but they were also a beacon of hope and prosperity to the general population of the kingdom, which ensured their survival from the

    Read More

  • The Mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke

    2870 Words  | 6 Pages

    Exploration of the east coast with intentions of finding land appropriate for building a colony began in the early part of 1584 by Sir Walter Raleigh, who had been issued a charter to do so by England's Queen Elizabeth I. After significant exploration, the expedition led by Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe touched the area of what is now known as the North Carolina coast in the vicinity of Hatteras. It was Roanoke Island that was finally chosen as the site of colonization because of what they thought was a convenient placement ten miles off the mainland of North Carolina. In fact, the final report presented to Raleigh by the two explorers boasted of a bountiful land inhabited by friendly and benevolent natives.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Lost Colony Of Roanoke

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ninety men, seventeen women, and eleven children were left in the colony of Roanoke while John White sailed to England to retrieve more supplies and help for the colony. White tried to set sail to the colony in spring of 1588 but was denied passage due to the impending threat of an invasion from Spain. White was finally allowed passage but was unable to control his crew as soon as they were out of sight of the mainland. He was wounded in this attempt. In early 1589, White was finally able to set sail to Roanoke with supplies. When he reached the colony, he found the houses and fort dismantled and deserted. The palisade around the fort was still standing and only heavy weapons remained along with, “many bars of iron, two pigs of lead, four iron fowlers, iron slacker-shot and such heavy things”(Cothran 196) . There were small cannons missing and chests buried by the settlers had been “dug up and rifled through” (Wright 48). On a tree, the letters CRO were carved and a palisade near the gate had the word CROATOAN carved in it. A sign was agreed upon before the departure of smith that the settlers would carve a cross into a designated tree if they were relocated by force. There was no such symbol located in the deserted colony.

    Read More

  • Native Americans and Alcohol

    2670 Words  | 6 Pages

    William Laurence Saunders "The Colonial Records of North Carolina", Volume 5 1887. Web. 23 May 2015.

    Read More

  • The Effects of British Imperialism in India

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    They established schools, newspapers and telegraphs for the people of the colonies. All blessings of civilization they could not create for themselves (Doc. 1). The adage of the adage. Furthermore, the British brought 30 million acres under cultivation with large scale irrigation works, began industrialization, improved sanitation and provided an overall higher standard of living (Doc. 4.... ... middle of paper ...

    Read More

More about Raleigh’s Colonies

Open Document