Roanoke Essays - Roanoke Island, African-American Historic Places

Roanoke The very first effort to colonize The New World was attempted by the English in the late sixteenth century, at Roanoke Island. Beginning in the year of 1584 efforts were made to explore the east coast of The New World and find land that would be habitably for future colonists. It was in 1587 that a permanent colony was finally established. However, this accomplishment for the colonists and for England was learned to be one of the greatest American mysteries when the colony was discovered abandoned in 1590. There are theories on what could of happened to the men, women and children who called this land their home but no one knows for sure. Roanoke Island is an island just off the coast of present day North Carolina. The Albemarle Sound, Croatoan Sound, Roanoke Sound, and the Pamlico Sound are four bodies of water that surround this island. The Atlantic Ocean is less than ten miles away from Roanoke on it's eastern coast, and direct contact with the ocean is connected by a strip of land called Bodie Island, which is part of the Outer Banks. The western coast of the Island is also less than ten miles from the mainland of North Carolina. In the late 16th century Queen Elizabeth encouraged exploration and settlement of new lands by issuing charters for exploration, and it was during this time period when the English discovered Roanoke Island. However it was not until March 25, 1584 when the significant history of Roanoke was made with the re-issuing of the charter to Sir Walter Raleigh. It was the responsibility of Raleigh to make the necessary provisions to complete the journeys to the New World and accomplish the goals of the charter. So Raleigh began hiring ship captains and their crews who were worthy seamen and could succumb to the new environment on the ship and on their new homeland. He would recruit possible colonists who had a dream of leaving their homeland in pursuit of a new land and who could also adapt and help build this new colony. He would need to purchase food and other supplies that would last them their voyage over the Atlantic and until they could manage their own crops. And the most difficult was finding those who would invest capital in the missions. Although Raleigh named the land he found Virginia, the queen would not give him the financial assistance that he needed for his mission. There were a total of four expeditions, under the Raleigh charter. The first and second expeditions took place from 1584 to 1586. The accomplishments of these missions included producing contact and establishing friendly relations with a native tribe called the Croatoan, the fortification of the island, and searching for an appropriate place for a permanent settlement. It is during the second expedition that Raleigh decided to leave behind some of the colonists, while the ships returned to England for supplies. They left a few more than one hundred men to continue the search for a permanent settlement sight, and to keep an English hold on the island. This effort failed due to the lack of supplies, weather conditions, and the strained relations with the Croatoans and other more violent native tribes. These men who were left also did not have the skills of building, cooking, and hunting their own food therefore survival on this new land was a struggle. The situation becomes extremely d esperate for the men when they resort to their dogs as a source of food. Some claim they even dug up the newly deceased as a source of food. Luckily for the colonists, a ship came to their rescue and took all but fifteen of the men back to England. The mystery of Roanoke begins with the third expedition of 1587. John White was named governor of the colonist, which would now include women children. The permanent structure of this mission was due in part by the involvement of entire families. To further insure success, the colonist themselves were the investors. The third expedition comprising of almost one hundred twenty men, women and children ready for colonization, arrived on the island in the spring of 1587. Their intent was to locate