I love these historical mysteries, especially when they haven't been solved as of yet!
When you read something like this, you can only imagine how puzzled the supply ship crew was when they returned. Friends and relatives were among the missing, so it's the "not knowing" that makes it all the worse!
Aug 18, 1590:
Roanoke Colony deserted
Roanoke Colony deserted
John White, the governor of the Roanoke Island colony in present-day North Carolina, returns from a supply-trip to England to find the settlement deserted. White and his men found no trace of the 100 or so colonists he left behind, and there was no sign of violence. Among the missing were Ellinor Dare, White's daughter; and Virginia Dare, White's granddaughter and the first English child born in America. August 18 was to have been Virginia's third birthday. The only clue to their mysterious disappearance was the word "CROATOAN" carved into the palisade that had been built around the settlement. White took the letters to mean that the colonists had moved to Croatoan Island, some 50 miles away, but a later search of the island found none of the settlers.
The Roanoke Island colony, the first English settlement in the New World, was founded by English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh in August 1585. The first Roanoke colonists did not fare well, suffering from dwindling food supplies and Indian attacks, and in 1586 they returned to England aboard a ship captained by Sir Francis Drake. In 1587, Raleigh sent out another group of 100 colonists under John White. White returned to England to procure more supplies, but the war with Spain delayed his return to Roanoke. By the time he finally returned in August 1590, everyone had vanished.
In 1998, archaeologists studying tree-ring data from Virginia found that extreme drought conditions persisted between 1587 and 1589. These conditions undoubtedly contributed to the demise of the so-called Lost Colony, but where the settlers went after they left Roanoke remains a mystery. One theory has them being absorbed into an Indian tribe known as the Croatans.
With no means of communications like we have today, those poor folks had no way to inform anyone of any problems. Scary times, that's for sure! Even with the advances in modern fact finding the mystery remains!
You just have to love it! I know that I do!
How about some fresh coffee on the patio? We have to hurry because the patio may disappear into a sinkhole if we don't get some rain pretty soon!
14 comments:
In the distant future, a small group of people hoping to repopulate the world with healthy normal genes will go back in time and bring the people of Roanoke forward in time.
oh wait they already did that movie....
I remember a very lively discussion of this in our history class when I was in ...oh gosh what grade was I in?? must have been around 1592... I mean 1979 or something. lol! ;)
Hey Kellie...
But I have to ask, how healthy and normal were these people?
Was that a movie? I thought it was a documentary!
Wait! 1592...you must have been in my sister's class! (just joking!)
I sure appreciate you coming by!
One of Bill Bryson's books THE LOST CONTINENT had a chapter on this very subject. Very funny book, I recommend you look it up in your library or book store, a very funny (and sometimes profane) author who writes 'laugh out loud' content. Mainly travel books, he supply's great research on his subjects as well.
Aliens came and took them.
There's some weight to the idea that the survivors went native. Don't remember where I read the case for it, but there was some good evidence for it.
A lot of whites went native during the colonial times. It was a better life for most.
Jim,I love a good mystery! To Sixbears point,going native is probably still a better life.If I wasn't so spoiled,back to the a/c an Mt Dew thing ha ha.
China
III
This is very interesting. Six Bears can be right on with them going native. the Indians knew how to survive.
I used to spend vacations on the Outer Banks of NC and have seen the play they put on about the lost colony. Very good and I too believe that they went native.
Hey Anon 6:49...
I'll have to read up on this guy! Seems like he may be my kind of author!
I appreciate you dropping in today!
Hey Momlady...
Ya reckon? As good an explanation as any, I suppose!
Have a great day and thanks for coming by today!
Hey Sixbears...
I believe that is the most logical thing to believe. Certainly would have been the most wise decision, I think!
Nothing like a good mystery!
Thanks for the thoughts and the visit, my friend!
Hey China...
Going native is a good choice for making sure food gets on the table! Many very usable skills could have been learned from the natives.
Food for thought, my friend, food for thought!
Thanks for taking the time to come by today!
Hey JoJo...
I totally agree!
Thanks, sweetie, for coming over this morning!
Hey DD...
Certainly makes the most sense, doesn't it?
Guess we will never know for sure!
Thanks, buddy, for the visit! If you get some rain...email me a little!
As I remember my small town school teacher telling us that the Indains got them. Course later in life and more eduction me, and teachers, got the "rest of the story" Personally I think they moved in with the Indians
Cue the Twilight Zone theme song Here! :-) Theme song
Hey Ben...
Sounds like the same way most of us think!
The Indians probably saved their asses and taught them some valuable lessons!
Thanks, buddy, for coming over this morning!
Tree rings show that a drought was in effect at the time. The colony was left in an unhurried fashion. They were told to leave a cross notched on a tree if they were forced to leave. Instead they left "Croatan". Artifacts of the colony were found at a major indian villafe of the Croatan Indians.
So it is likely that at least initially that is where they intended to go. However, Indian society was not a very safe environement at the time. If the group that they were staying with was attacked, it is likely that the various groups of the colonists could have become scattered all over the place. So when a dozen years later, people come looking for them, they are looking for individual needles (people) in a haystack of indians, not a clustered easily identified group.
Given the variety and mixture of stories told years later, this seems like the most likely course of events. But of course unlikely things do happen.
Time to stop funding all the Politicians.Use that money more wisely even if it's just planting a tree.Let these politicians use the social media to get their words across. NO MORE MONEY TO POLITICIANS. I SUGGEST YOU GIVE THEM ALL A SUCKER LETS TURN IT AROUND
PASS IT AROUND
in accordance with the application of occum's razor...the simplest explanation is usually correct.
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