What happened
In 1587 more than a hundred English colonists settled on Roanoke Island, among them Governor John White and his daughter, who gave birth there to Virginia Dare – the first English child born in the Americas. White soon sailed to England for supplies, but the war with Spain delayed his return by three years. When he reached the island on August 18, 1590 – his granddaughter’s third birthday – the settlement was deserted and the houses had been dismantled. The word “CROATOAN” had been carved into a post, and the letters “CRO” into a tree. The agreed-upon sign of a cross, which was to indicate danger, was not found. A storm and the crew’s reluctance prevented White from sailing to Croatoan Island, home to a friendly tribe. The fate of the colonists was never determined.
Witnesses
Governor John White and the sailors of his expedition, who found the abandoned settlement; White’s account survives in his writings.
Explanations and hypotheses
The most common view is that the colonists moved to Croatoan Island (now part of Hatteras) or inland and eventually assimilated with the local Algonquian peoples. Excavations on Hatteras and in the interior of present-day North Carolina have yielded European objects from the period, but their connection to the colonists is disputed. Other hypotheses point to starvation, disease, and conflict. Tree-ring analysis has shown that 1587–1589 brought an exceptionally severe drought to the region.
Unexplained There is no convincing explanation.
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