Colonial Campaigns Club (CCC)

What became of the "Lost Colony" of English settlers who landed on the Outer Banks off the coast of modern North Carolina in 1587? Were they killed, captured, or did they become part of a local tribe of Indians?

The 110 men, women, and children who hoped to establish the first permanent English settlement in the New World thought they were being taken to the Chesapeake River in what is now Virginia but their captain left them on a narrow island called Roanoke.

Captain Fernandez may have been protecting the colonists from the Indians of the Chesapeake, who were said to be fierce defenders of their land. Whatever his reason, John White, the colony's leader, had to sail back to England to report that his people were in the wrong location. Having left his daughter, Elenor, and granddaughter, Virginia Dare, behind, he was desperate to return. Unfortunately, war broke out in 1588 and Queen Elizabeth forbid any ships from leaving England. When White tried to slip out anyway, pirates attacked his ship.

White finally returned in 1590, but the only trace of the settlement was the word "Croatoan," carved into a tree. This was the name of a region controlled by a friendly tribe of Indians called the Manteo. Unfortunately, White's ship was so damaged it had to leave at once so he couldn't pursue his search. But later visitors reported seeing Indians with gray eyes and English features in the area.

The next English settlement was established in 1607 at Jamestown on the Chesapeake. These settlers did clash with the local Indians, and heard a report that Pocahontas's father had recently executed the remaining lost colonists. Dr. Lee Miller, an expert on Indian history, believes that the secret of the colony lies in the oral traditions of the local Indian tribes. The settlers were not "lost," they became part of the already existing native world.