he story of the Lost Roanoke Colony is one of history’s most famous mysteries for a reason. It has pirates, shipwrecks, skeletons, hoaxes, family drama, and an enduring question that has puzzled historians for 400 years… How did 117 people simply vanish?
Roanoke Colony
Wikimedia Commons
John White’s depiction of his 1590 expedition to Roanoke Island, when he discovered the lost colony missing. The word “Croatoan” was the only clue.
Just two years after Sir Walter Raleigh founded the Roanoke Colony for the English in present-day North Carolina, it was lost forever in August 1587 when all of its inhabitants disappeared at once. And though recent research has unearthed some tantalizing clues, the story of the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island remains shrouded in mystery to this day.
The Pre-History Of The Lost Roanoke Colony
The year is 1587. Under the rule of Queen Elizabeth I, England is strong and prosperous. Shakespeare writes in London’s taverns, Sir Francis Drake leads daring raids against the Spanish, and an increasingly literate and urban population turns its eyes to a new frontier: the Americas.
Among those attracted to the promise of the New World was John White, a gentleman artist and mapmaker with a passion for new lands. He had already been to North America once — though the experience was so harrowing that many were astonished he wanted to return.
