1. FACT: We Could Still Trace The Lost Colony. The search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke
is not over yet– in fact, it’s going high tech. In 2007, The Lost Colony of Roanoke
DNA project was founded by Roberta Estes. Estes owns a private DNA-testing company and
hopes to solve the mystery of the colonists using oral history (like that of the Native
Americans), migration patterns, historical records and DNA testing. So yes, we may still
not know what happened, but the most likely scenario is probably a combination of the
theories we’ve explored. After struggling with hostile neighbors and a drought the colonists
more than likely decided to split up and leave Roanoke in order to try and survive. Some
may have tried to return to England, gone inland, integrated with the Croatoans or another
tribe or been killed. One thing is for sure– it’s certainly an enduring mystery!
2. THEORY: They Died of Illness. It is possible (but unlikely) that it was illness that wiped
out the Roanoke colony. The reason that it is unlikely is because they left no trace
of their livelihood behind. If they had been struck down by disease they would not have
had the time to do this and if this was the case, then why didn’t White find any bodies
or graves at the settlement? It was far more likely that the colonists would have brought
with them diseases from the New World which would have affected the native population.
Native Indians having never been exposed to diseases like flu and smallpox were reported
to have died very quickly compared to the English who would have had some natural immunity
3. FACT: White Never Recovered From The Loss. The Lost Colony was a tragedy for England,
but most of all for White, who must have felt terrible guilt over the incident that cost
him his daughter and grandchild. He never fully recovered from the loss and never again
returned to the new world. In his correspondence he wrote that he handed over their fates to
God, hoping that He would comfort and help the lost colonists. After the failure of the
second colony of Roanoke, White returned to Ireland where he took time to reflect on his
lost hopes and dreams in America. Little is known of his later life, but it’s thought
that he retired to an estate in Ireland, where he made maps of land until his death in about
1593, just three years later 4. THEORY: The Dare Stones. In 1937, a tourist
claimed to have discovered a stone inscribed by John White’s daughter, Eleanor Dare,
who was among the 115 missing colonists. The engraving on one side of the stone indicated
that Eleanor’s husband, Ananias, and her daughter, Virginia had died in 1591. The other
side explained that all but seven of the colonists had been killed by “savages” and it was
signed “EWD”. By 1940, forty-seven more stones had been discovered by a local farmer
in the same area, although these are strongly suspected to be forgeries. These stones tell
a complicated story about Eleanor; how their group traveled and how she eventually married
a “tribal chief” and bore him a daughter, much to the dismay of his tribe
5. FACT: Lost Artifacts. Very few artifacts have been discovered that link back to the
Lost Colony. The reason for this lack of archaeological evidence is believed to be due to shoreline
erosion; meaning that the settlement has dissolved into the shoreline over the last four centuries,
taking any artifacts with it. The East Carolina University organized and led “The Croatoan
Project” in 1998; sending an archaeological excavation team to investigate the events
at Roanoke. During their time on the island, the team uncovered a 16th-century gold signet
ring and two copper farthings (dated to have been produced in the 1670s). The gold ring
contained a lion crest which was confirmed by genealogists to belong to the Kendall coat
of arms. It seems likely that the ring belonged to Master Kendall, who lived in the first
colony on the island between 1585 and 1586 6. THEORY: They Starved To Death. The findings
regarding the drought conditions led a lot of people to speculate that the colonists
may have starved to death due to the lack of rain needed to grow the crops needed to
sustain them. This, coupled with the colonist’s lack of knowledge about the land and local
vegetation, seems a likely explanation for the collapse of the colony, however, it doesn’t
explain why they weren’t found at their settlement. They may have left the island
seeking assistance, but we’ll never know if they found it. Imagine being in a hostile,
dry land, thinking you’ve been abandoned by your leader, they were probably pretty
desperate. Some authors have also suggested that the lack of food in the area may have
been the reason that the English were killed by the natives, who may have gone scavenging
for food during the drought 7. FACT: Drought Conditions. One of the most
difficult aspects of forming a new colony is producing food. It takes time to plant
and raise crops and we need to remember that the English were trying to farm on foreign
soil so there would have been a lot of trial and error. During this time they would have
needed to forage or hunt, but again they did not know the land. And it seems that the climate
during the years of the second Roanoke Colony was quite harsh as well. Tree ring cores from
800-year-old cypress trees on Roanoke Island have been used to reconstruct the rain and
temperature fluctuations of the island. These findings concluded that when the settlers
landed in the summer of 1587 the island was experiencing the worst growing season drought
in 800 years and this drought persisted until
8. THEORY: They Tried To Return To England. Along with being abducted by aliens, this
is probably one of the most unlikely theories, however no one knows for a certainty what
happened at Roanoke, do they? The colonists must have grown desperate on the island; they
didn’t know how to survive on the land of the New World and faced hostility all around
them from the natives. Feeling unable to retreat inland they may have decided to try and build
a seafaring vessel and return to England to seek assistance. However, it’s highly unlikely
that the small group could have constructed such a vessel and, even if they had, the route
was brimming with Spanish ships who would have easily overpowered them
9. FACT: The Search For the Lost Colony. When White arrived back on Roanoke Island in 1590
and found it deserted he still had hope for his daughter and granddaughter. The buildings
had been taken down and there were no bodies or remains in the camp. They had not left
the Maltese cross, indicating violence and had carved the name of an island and tribe
they had good relations with on a post. White felt sure that the colonists were, therefore,
safe on Croatoan Island. White started to search the surrounding islands, but shortly
into the search the weather turned bad, producing rough seas and high winds. The ship lost three
anchors during their efforts and the captain insisted they abandon their efforts for fear
that he would lose the remaining one. They returned to England and White never found
out what happened to his family 10. THEORY: They Were Murdered By Hostile
Native Americans. While some tribes were very welcoming towards the English and wanted to
benefit from good relations with them, others were extremely hostile. This is understandable
as the colonists were making claims on their land and resources. The colony who abandoned
Roanoke before the 1587 colony had battled with some of these hostile Native American
tribes. When they arrived, White did try to form friendly relationships, but only succeeded
with the Croatoans. It’s possible that the settlers could have been murdered or abducted
by a native tribe. Although he is not considered a reliable source John Smith, claimed that
during his investigation of the disappearance of Chief Powhatan of the Powhatan tribe claimed
that he had killed the Roanoke settlers, although there is no evidence to prove this
11. FACT: The Infamous “CROATOAN” Carving. When John White left the colony in December
1587, he instructed them that if something were to happen to them they should carve a
Maltese cross on a certain tree. This would be left as an indication that they had been
moved against their will. When he arrived back in 1590, the houses and fortifications
had been taken down. White took this as a sign that the people had taken their time
to leave, obviously not under duress (although someone else could also have dismantled the
camp other than the colonists). There was no carved cross, only the word “CROATOAN”
carved into a fence post. This was the name of an island just south of Roanoke; home to
the Croatoan tribe who had been friendly with the English settlers
12. THEORY: The Colony Was Killed By The Spanish. A settler named Darby Glande left the Roanoke
expedition when the ship stopped at Puerto Rico to take on new suppliers. He later reported
that he had told some Spanish officials that he met there about the location of the Roanoke
settlement. The Spanish had their own settlements just down the coast of Florida and it’s
likely that the Spanish in the West Indies also knew about the colonists. Earlier in
the century, the Spanish were responsible for the massacre of the French inhabitants
of Fort Caroline and also destroyed evidence of another French colony in South Carolina.
It is, therefore, conceivable that they murdered the English settlers and dismantled their
habitations; although some people argue that the Spaniards were still looking for the failed
English colony in 1600 13. FACT: It Took John White Three Years To
Return. The colonists had no way of knowing when White would return, and it must have
been agonizing for them to wait. Of course, there was no way of communicating the way
we do now and they may have even thought that he didn’t make it back to England when he
didn’t return for such a long time. White did make it back to England, but soon afterward
the country was attacked by the Spanish Armada which led to the Anglo-Spanish War. Every
able English ship was called to join the fight, leaving White with no means to return to Roanoke.
In 1588, he managed to find two small boats which he filled with provisions and sailed
for the New World but they were both captured by the Spanish. Finally, White landed back
on Roanoke Island on the 18th of August 1590 (his granddaughter Virginia Dare’s birthday)
but found it deserted, with no trace of his granddaughter or anyone else that was left
behind 14. THEORY: The Lumbee Connection. A popular
theory is that something unexpected happened on the island which caused the colonists to
split into smaller groups and move. It’s believed that they may have been absorbed
into one or more of the nearby native tribes because no single tribe could have taken them
all. The members of the Jamestown colony (which was established 17 years after the Lost Colony’s
disappearance) engaged with the Native Americans hoping to find answers as to what had happened
to the men, women, and children of Roanoke Island. These natives told the colonists stories
about white settlements they had seen further down the coastline and reported fair-skinned
people with blonde hair dressed as natives. Most historians believe that small pockets
of the Lost Colony were absorbed into a friendly tribe and with interbreeding assimilated into
the tribe. This may be the Lumbee tribe, native to North Carolina and while no concrete evidence
exists to support this, their oral history links them to the Lost Colonists
15. FACT: They Weren’t The First People To Go Missing From Roanoke Island. The 115
colonists, who landed on Roanoke Island in July 1587 were on their way to start a new
colony and had stopped at Roanoke Island to check in on the few remaining members of the
first established colony. But when they arrived, there was no one and nothing left of the camp,
except for one human skeleton. At this point, you would have thought that they would continue
on with their voyage but for reasons unknown, the fleet commander refused to allow the colonists
back on board; insisting that they had to re-establish the colony at Roanoke. They were
afraid and rightly so; they were in a strange place and had no idea what had happened to
the people who landed before them. They implored their leader, John White, to return to England
and explain what was happening and return with help. He sailed for England late in 1587