Roanoke Colony

1585–c.1590

Virginea Pars map, drawn by John White during his initial visit in 1585. Roanoke is the small pink island in the middle right of the map.

History

•

Established

1585

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Birth of Virginia Dare

August 18, 1587

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Abandoned

Before August c.1590

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Found abandoned

August 18, 1590

Population

•

1587

116

Political subdivisions

English Colony

The Roanoke Colony, also known as the Lost Colony, was established on Roanoke Island in what is today's Dare County, North Carolina. It was a late 16th-century attempt by Queen Elizabeth I to establish a permanent English settlement in North America. The colony was founded by Sir Walter Raleigh.

The colonists disappeared during the Anglo-Spanish War, three years after the last shipment of supplies from England. Their disappearance gave rise to the nickname "The Lost Colony." There is no conclusive evidence as to what happened to the colonists.

The enterprise was originally financed and organized by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who drowned in 1583 during an aborted attempt to colonize St. John's, Newfoundland. Sir Humphrey Gilbert's half-brother Sir Walter Raleigh later gained his brother's charter from the Queen and subsequently executed the details of the charter through his delegates Ralph Lane and Richard Grenville, Raleigh's distant cousin.

On March 25, 1584, Queen Elizabeth I granted Raleigh a charter for the colonization of the area of North America. This charter specified that Raleigh needed to establish a colony in North America, or lose his right to colonization.

The Queen and Raleigh intended that the venture should provide riches from the New World. The queen said to “discover, search, find out, and view such remote heathen and barbarous Lands, Countries, and territories … to have, hold, occupy, and enjoy.”

It was also to establish a base from which to send privateers on raids against the treasure fleets of Spain. It was to tell Spain that England was ready for war. The original charter basically told Raleigh to establish a military base to counteract Spaniards. Raleigh himself never visited North America, although he led expeditions in 1595 and 1617 to South America's Orinoco River basin in search of the legendary golden city of El Dorado.

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Wikipedia