Early Expeditions to Roanoke  Queen Elizabeth I, of England send expeditions to explore the Eastern coast of North America  Sir Walter Raleigh met the native tribes of the area:  Secotans  Croatoans

Early Expeditions to Roanoke  Goals of Sir Walter Raleigh’s 1 st Expedition:  Find resources (gold!)  Claim territory  Convert natives to Christianity  Establish a base from which to attach Spanish ships.

Early Settlements in Roanoke  Grenville led 100 men who settled on Roanoke Island, off the coast of what is now North Carolina.  Governor Grenville left to get more supplies  Why would leaving 100 men not be ideal for starting a new colony??  You can’t have children with only men!

Early Settlements in Roanoke  Colonists didn’t have enough supplies!  Fights with natives!  English believed natives stole a silver cup. As punishment, an entire native village was sacked and burned.  Natives were dying from European diseases.  Colonists had returned to England after 10 months, when Sir Francis Drake stopped on the island.

Early Settlements in Roanoke  When the ships with supplies FINALLY returned a year later, they found the colony deserted.  Colonists had returned to England after 10 months, when Sir Francis Drake stopped on the island.  Upon returning to an abandoned settlement, Grenville left 15 men to maintain the English presence until more settlers could be brought.  What do you think happened to them?

The Lost Colony of Roanoke  colonists (men and women) arrived at Roanoke to find it abandoned  Skeletal remains of the 15 soldiers were found.  Settlers improved relationship with the Powhatan tribe from the Croatoan Island nearby  Native tribes kept their distance  Settlers needed to rely on supplies from England!

The Lost Colony of Roanoke  Governor: John White  Had been a member of the 1585 settlement as an artist  His daughter, son-in-law- and granddaughter lived there  Virginia Dare- first English child born in North America!  Left to get more supplies….  Took THREE YEARS!!

The Lost Colony of Roanoke  White returns with supplies to find:  No sign of people (no skeletons)  Houses had been taken down (NOT destroyed)  Carved into trees: ‘CRO’ and ‘CROATOAN’  No Maltese crosses (the agreed-upon signal for danger) anywhere

The Lost Colony of Roanoke  White left without searching the Croatoan Island or the nearby areas due to a coming storm  No hard evidence of the 1587 colony has ever been found!  Records from Governor White and Spanish sailors disagree about the exact location of Roanoke.  What caused the colonists of Roanoke to disappear?