Paranormal
How do 150 people suddenly disappear off an island? Roanoke Island was found devoid of its settlers, with the exception of a clue: The word "CROTOAN" and "CRO" found carved on a tree trunk. Where could they have gone?
The Story
English explorers had been sailing across the Atlantic Ocean since the middle of the 1500s. Sometimes they explored the east coast of North America. Sometimes the English explorers also acted as royal pirates and attacked Spanish treasure ships carrying gold from Middle and South America. Francis Drake was England’s most famous explorer. He also stole treasure from the Spanish ships.
Elizabeth I was the queen of England at this time. She is one of the most important characters in this mystery because without her help and influence this story would never have taken place. Elizabeth wanted England to be powerful and rich. There was also a lot of competition between England and Spain during this time. The two countries were having a race to be the most powerful. Elizabeth I wanted England to win and she didn't want Spain to have control of the New World. Sir Walter Raleigh comes into the story at this time. Raleigh wanted great things for England but he also wanted them for himself. He wanted to become famous and to do this Raleigh needed Elizabeth to give him money, supplies, and ships to find treasures and colonies for England. Raleigh and Elizabeth both wanted a new empire across the ocean for England. They knew the lands across the ocean had great things.
In July 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh sent English colonists to an island off the coast of what is today North Carolina. The Indians called the island Roanoke Island. The English named the colony Virginia. In less than a year, the colony failed. The colonists did not know how to survive. When Sir Francis Drake visited the colony in 1586, he found the colonists starving. He rescued them and took them back to England. Raleigh’s first attempt had not worked. The Englishmen did not know how to survive in America.
In 1587, John White led 117 colonists to Roanoke. John White, had an idea to get people to go to Roanoke Island. It was to attract settlers who would bring their families with them and invest in the colony. Each settler would receive 500 acres of land and some view in the government of the colony. John White brought 91 men, 17 women, and 9 children.
In the spring of 1587, they set sail. When they got there they started repairing the old fort and the houses. It was clear that White would have to go back and get more supplies in order for the colony to survive the winter. So several weeks later he went back to England. He got delayed back in England for three years because England was fighting a war with Spain. All of England’s sailors and ships were needed to defeat the Spanish Armada. (The Spanish armada was Spain’s attempt to invade England. There were 130 ships in the armada).
After three years, John White was able to return to Roanoke Island. When White and his men reached the shore they saw a fire blazing in the woods on the northern end of the island. White got excited because he thought the fire was a signal from the colonists. White and his men searched the island but could not find any of the people or his family, but there were clues.
The men found no people but only the letters "CRO" carved on a tree and on another part of the island they found the word "Croatoan" carved on a wooden fence post. These carvings were the only clues they could find. White wanted to look for the lost people because he didn't see any signs of their deaths. He wanted to look for his family but fall was quickly coming. They knew it was the hurricane season and they could see a storm coming. White decided to return to England before the bad weather came. They left without ever finding the lost people.
Five Popular Theories
- The people of Roanoke simply left the settlement.
This is one of the more probable theories. It is said that they have supposedly left Roanoke island and started settling in the Chesapeake Bay. And that they built rafts or a boat of some sort using materials torn apart from their houses. Close to twenty years had passed before John Smith and his group started the well-known settlement of Jamestown (where the popular story of Pocahontas takes place). This settlement was near the Chesapeake Bay. The evidence in this tale is that the ruler of the natives did indeed admit to killing the colonists. They said that they had been in their land (Chesapeake Bay area) and were then annihilated to prevent more English settlers form stealing their land. - The whole population of Roanoke Island was killed by a disease.
This is an absurd theory. It is true that the English had brought over some diseases. However, note, there were no bodies found and the houses had disappeared. Quite a ridiculous theory. - The village was destroyed by a severe storm such as a hurricane.
Another one of the incredulous theories. A hurricane could have washed away the colonists and destroyed the houses, true. But the huge problem with this theory is the fence was still standing. It is not possible for a storm to do as much damage as clearing away the whole settlement when the fence remained untouched. - The people of Roanoke decided to leave Roanoke Island to live with the Natives.
This theory is definitely probable. Crotoan, which was carved on the post, was the name of an island in the area. It was also the name of the group of the kind natives that inhabited it. It is possible that they colonists decided to live with the natives of Croatoan. Though there has not been a descent amount of evidence to prove this theory, there also has been no evidence against it. - The colonists were killed by the Native Americans
This is the most probable of all five theories. One important fact supports this theory. As one may not know, the English men had before tried to start the colony of Roanoke before. Twas a group of fifteen men. A little over a year had passed since they first started the colony, before explorers decided to check up on their hopeful progress. What these explorers found was one dead body. It was verified that it was the work of the Natives. From this past event we know that the Natives were capable of such atrocities and also capable of hiding the bodies. What’s interesting is that the Natives pulled all of that off in between less than a two year period. While the “lost colony” had been deprived of its leader for a number of three years. The “Indians” had a sufficient amount of time to tear down the buildings too. However there has still not been enough evidence to verify this theory.
