As you are coming to the end of your long journey, you’re overwhelmed with the idea that you’ll be home soon, accompanied by warm, familiar faces. However, when you return home, you’re not welcomed by friends and family, but by silence and only the howl of the wind. You look around and not a single soul is in sight. Not one person in your home or in your whole village. A frightening scenario, isn’t it? This was the startling reality that John White and his fellow colonists were faced with when they returned home from their long voyage. His home was none other than the infamous Roanoke Colony.
In 1587, John White led 113 men, women, and children to Roanoke island on behalf of Queen Elizabeth I, in order to establish a New World colony, and claim riches for the queen and people of England.1 The land was somewhat familiar as it had been a previous military outpost.2 However, its first attempt at establishing a colony there had failed. John White and his men were determined not to fail their Queen on this attempt. They especially did not want to fail their investor, Sir Walter Raleigh, like others had in the past. So they went to all extents to make sure their colony’s needs were met.3 The colony seemed to settle well; however, they quickly outgrew supplies, which were essential for the long-term establishment of the colony; so now governor of Roanoke, John White, sailed back to England in order to restock. Upon his arrival in London, he was met with war with Spain and the Spanish Armada, England’s enemy at the time. Storms and many other factors made the return back to Roanoke a long one, one of years, leaving the colonists to wonder when their leader would return.4
Once John White and his men returned, Roanoke was bereft of all its colonists. They recalled that on their way to Roanoke, once already on land, they found a few footprints from Indians.5 However, they made nothing of it at the time. When they reached the village, White came across the letters “CRO” carved on a tree and the word “CROATOAN” carved on a post. Upon further inspection, it seemed that all the houses that the Roanoke Colonist were living in had been dismantled. After seeing this, White was more at ease because he believed that they had relocated to Croatoan, where the Croatoan tribe lived. This was due to the fact that White told the colonists that if they ever relocated, they were to carve the name of their new location somewhere visible. If the move or escape was out of distress, they were also to carve a Maltese cross, but none were in sight. One small thing bothered White though. He had told the colonists to hide his valuables underground, but he found that some were scattered and others were lost. In the end, for a reason unknown, White only looked for the colony one time, but didn’t find them. After this failed attempt, he made no others.6
One question still lingered in the mind of many others: what happened to the Roanoke colonists? It’s said that they were never seen again by Europeans, but there were also many speculated accounts of their whereabouts and fate. In 1608, John Smith wrote in his book that the Indians reported to him of people that looked like him. George Percy, another colonist, reported seeing a white boy with blonde hair among the Indians. Smith later sent two missions towards the south in order to find evidence of the remaining colonists, eventually learning that they were killed.7
Later, a twenty-one-quartz stone was discovered that is believed to have been a “grave marker” for the Roanoke deceased. On the smooth side of the stone was a cross and on the other were passages, speaking of deaths within the colony along with the years.8 As a last matter, in 1612, writer William Strachey reported that the Roanoke Colony did indeed live in harmony with the Chesapeake Indians for twenty-five years. Both the Indians and colonists shared knowledge and lived together until Powhatan, a leader of another Indian tribe called the Powhatan, slaughtered the colonists and the Indians sheltering them in fear that a rival to him would appear from within their tribe. A few of the colonists escaped and were later spared when they were found due to the fact that they worked well with copper, making them valuable. Still many wondered if these were facts or just stories that people wanted to hear.9 In the end, all the evidence points to the fact that the Roanoke colonists are not lost to history, but were rather killed off by brutal Indians. There is no mystery left, it’s just a matter of connecting the dots.
- The Gale Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained, 2003, s.v. “The Desertion of Roanoke,” by Brad Steiger and Sherry Hanson Steiger; Karenne Wood, “The Roanoke Colony,” South Atlantic Review 77, no. 1/2 (2012): 178-79. ↵
- Lee Miller, Roanoke Solving the Mystery of England’s Lost Colony (London: Pimlico, 2001), 7-9. ↵
- Karenne Wood, “The Roanoke Colony,” South Atlantic Review 77, no. 1/2 (2012): 178-79. ↵
- Lee Miller, Roanoke Solving the Mystery of England’s Lost Colony (London: Pimlico, 2001), 10-11. ↵
- Karen Odahl Kupperman, Roanoke The Abandoned Colony (New Jersey: Rowman & Allanheld, 1984), 133-135. ↵
- Karen Odahl Kupperman, Roanoke The Abandoned Colony (New Jersey: Rowman & Allanheld, 1984), 136-137. ↵
- Karen Odahl Kupperman, Roanoke The Abandoned Colony (New Jersey: Rowman & Allanheld, 1984), 137-139. ↵
- Haywood J. Pearce, “New Light on the Roanoke Colony: A Preliminary Examination of a Stone Found in Chowan County, North Carolina,” The Journal of Southern History 4, no. 2 (1938): 148-150. ↵
- Karen Odahl Kupperman, Roanoke The Abandoned Colony (New Jersey: Rowman & Allanheld, 1984), 139. ↵
114 comments
Elliot Avigael
I really appreciate how your introduction highlights the desolation John White must have experienced at Roanoke. Your narration almost made me feel like I was sitting around a campfire, listening to an urban legend. I think it is pretty clear that the Roanoke colonists were wiped out by hostile natives, but I could only imagine how terrifying this was for John White and his men, considering they didn’t have access to the facts that we have today. Regardless of that, however, I would still like to think that there is at least some mystery and legend associated with the disappearance of the Roanoke colony; perhaps a mysterious and unknown plague?
Ariette Aragon
First, I want to start saying that the introduction was very clever and drew me in from the start, putting me in John White’s shoes. I also liked how you explained other theories about the whereabouts of the colonists, because you really gave us important insight about this mystery. Also, I found very interesting the Dare Stone picture that was found on the last known site of the Roanoke Colony, that looks amazing. Overall, you did a pretty good job with this article! Your detailed description got me very invested.
Matthew Tobar
Wow, I had no idea people actually found out how the colonists disappeared, I always thought it was one of those unknown mysteries. Thank you for writing this article, you did a good job! I like how you draw us in right from the get-go with a detailed description. It works very well and sets the mood for the rest of the article. I also like how you included some of the theories that were thought of to explain the colonists’ disappearance, very smart. Again, this was a well-written article. Good job!
James Corley
I honestly can’t imagine the thoughts that were racing through John White’s head at the time. Just knowing that you leave the colony, seeing it bustling with humans, to returning and not seeing or hearing his bustling colony. Overall, this was a very intriguing article to read, and the author did an amazing job putting us in the footsteps of John White, to explaining the details of the lost colony at great length.
Tyler Pauly
I also find the story of the Roanoke Colony very interesting. I like how at the beginning of the article the author put us in the shoes of John White and what it must have been like to return home to an empty settlement. I then find it kind of interesting that despite likely being surprised by the Colony’s disappearance, he really didn’t make much of an attempt to find them. I also appreciate how they then transitioned directly into the content and history of the story after the introduction. This helps people who may have been unfamiliar with story really understand what the author wanted them to feel in the introduction.
Travis Green
One of my all time favorite unsolved mysteries. You did a great job of giving an overview of the story while giving your own thoughts and stating what you think happened. I don’t think I personally agree with it considering that we’ve still never a mass grave or any other evidence of a whole colony of people dying off in a pretty brutal way.
Skyla Bonilla
I really enjoyed reading the article because it kept me on my toes. I was curious about what had happened to the Roanoke Colonists as I was reading the story. It was cool to find out about them living in peace with the Chesapeake Indians and it was satisfying to find out about the Powhatan tribe being the criminals all along. It gave me a great insight of just how brutal Native Americans could be because of how they were able to “kill off” the Roanoke Colonists.
Santiago Sabogal
I’m not very familiar with U.S history, but I founded this story very interesting and catchy. This article explained to me in a very good way this mystery using multiple valid sources and information. I just find interesting the fact that a whole village just completely vanished leaving no trace. Also, I think that the author did a good job with the intro showing the point of view of John White, when he was waiting to be welcomed by the people he loved and ended up being welcome by the lonely village.
Amelie Rivas-Berlanga
The article is extremely well written. Giving us a POV of what he would have seen the day he returned to Roanoke island. I had no idea that this event had even happened until I read the article, so the author’s attention to detail makes the article flow well. The photo of the “search party” pointing at a tree that says “Croatans” is one of the reasons they believed the colony went with the Indians. Great article!
Maria Luevano
the disappearance of Roanoke always intrigued me, but never knew much on the subject. I was intrigued to find out that the leader of this colony was John White. As someone who does not have to travel by sea to go to another country, I tend to forget how long these journeys take. It shocks me to learn that a trip back to England would take years. It must have taken a lot of courage and bravery to leave your colony for such a long time when they are stranded in a land with known enemies and violence.