All of this exploration and European rivalry eventually trickled its way into the English bloodstream. After England defeated the Spanish Armada (most powerful navy in the world at that time) in 1588, they felt secure enough to travel across the Atlantic and try their hand at colonization.
One of the first major attempts was a colony off the coast of North Carolina on Roanoke Island. Set up by Sir Walter Raleigh, a group traveled to North America, survived for few years and then disappeared. To this day no one knows what happened to this English colony.
Read this story about the possible theories explaining their disappearance. In the comments section, choose the theory that makes the most sense to you and explain why. Also, discuss what would have been some of the difficulties of living in a brand new land 3,000 miles away from home.
The one theory that stands out to me the most is the Lumbee tribe theory. This theory sticks out to me because the people there were white and the Natives were a different color. I’m not trying to be racist, but I’m trying to show the differences between the two people. I think the main difficulty living 3,000 miles away from home would be getting enough supplies to live on. I say this because the supplies might run out and u would have to wait a month before getting more, or healing the sick and you ran out of medicine to use. It is also hard to message the leader of your country telling them what is going on in the area because they are so far away and it takes so long to sail to them. (137)
ReplyDeleteI think the Lumbee Tribe Theory makes the most sense. I think that the people may have been struggling, looked to the Natives for help, and then joined their tribe/created their own tribe. After they joined/created the tribe, they stood out from the rest of the Natives in many ways. They stood out because of their hair color, eye color, skin tone, they were better educated, they spoke Engish, etc. It would have been very difficult living in a stange country so far from home! It would be like if somebody grew up in the South, lived there all their life, and then when they were like 40 moved to Alaska. It would be extremely difficult for that person to get used to the completely different culture and climate up there, if the person didn't give up and move back down south. The people at the Roanoke settlement probably felt the same way. A completely different place with strange people, customs, plants, animals, languages, and so many other things would be a scary change to pretty much anybody, I think. (184)
ReplyDeleteThe theory that makes the most sense and seems the most likely to happen was the theory about the Lumbee Tribe. I think this is what happened because no bones, houses, or any other remains were found at Roanoke. If the people at Roanoke were taken over by another group of people remains of their colony would probably still be there. I think the people of Roanoke decided that their life was hard in this different place and decided to move somewhere else. It would be very hard to move so far away from home to a new land to live in. I think the hardest thing would just be adjusting to your new life. They would have probably had to leave some of their family, friends, and their old way of life. In this new land you would have to find out completely different ways to get food, make shelter, heal the sick, and how to do pretty much everything. They did not have such advanced ways to communicate back then like we do now. It would be harder to tell others back in your old life how you were doing, and if you needed any help or other things like that. I could never imagine how difficult it was to move so far away from my home! (219)
ReplyDeleteNo one knows for certain what happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island, but there are many theories floating around. There’s the Lumbee tribe theory, which makes the most sense, the Spanish theory, and the shift of power theory. The one that made the most sense to me was the Lumbee tribe. Of all the theories this is the only one that left any “evidence” that we can find today. There were some disadvantages living 3,000 miles away from home. One would be that you didn’t have an army; that could be one reason why the Lost Colony disappeared. Another disadvantage would be that you couldn’t always make a quick trip back home to see family. (117)
ReplyDeleteI beleive that the theory that makes the most sence is the Lumbee tribe theory. The colonists moved inland because they either ran out of food, or used up all of the available natural resources. They had trouble adjusting to this new lifestyle because now life was not as easy as it had been in England. Don't get me started on all of the hazards. Wild animals, angry natives, and rival countries were just a few of hazards that the colonists had to face. When they reached North Carolina, they ran into a friendly native american tribe. Seeing how well the native americans adapted, they decided to live with the natives. Over time they married each other which led to the Lumbee tribe. I beleive this theory makes the most sence because is the colonists had been over taken by Spanish soldgers or angry natives, there would have been bones and maby even house remains where they were attacked. One thing's for sure: You just can't really argue about the skin of the Lumbee tribe.(175)
ReplyDelete-This is Liam, signing off!
I also believe the Lumbee Connecion theory is the most accurate, based on the Lumbee's medium-brown skin tone instead of dark skin. Also, their eyes were described as blue/gray, and natives traditionally had dark brown eyes. I believe the fact that some Lumbees could read and write is evidence that the Roanoakers joined the Croatoan tribe. And, the strongest proof of all, is that many of the Lumbee tribe had English surnames, such as Dial, Hyatt, and Taylor, which means they most likely had English lineage. The Lumbee tribe most likely is a mixture of the Roanokers and the Croatoans, or the kids.
ReplyDeleteBut if they did, it must have been hard, even harder than living as a setlement where they would have been in a foreign country, and just learning the land, surviving, learning what food was safe to eat.(136)
-hope
After pondering about the diffrent theories I think the Lumbee Connection was the most likely one that happened. The one about the Spanish taking over would have been accurate since they were having a war with them at the time, but I think their are many flaws. For one wouldn't they tear down the colony until their was nothing left, and the sign that was left would have had a Maltese cross. So to me the Lumbee theory is the most accurate, because they would have been struggling so its only right that they pack up and leave. Plus their have even been stories about a tribe with fair skin, and who were able to read and write in English. After moving 3,000 miles away from your home, and having no supplies it would have been the smartest move. I can imagine their diffuculties would be having so little food, and not knowing what you can eat and what you can't. They were still adapting to their new life style and weren't very aware of the things around them. The Roanoke missing colony mystery might never be solved!!!(188)
ReplyDeleteI believe that ALL of these theories are WRONG! You cannot say that they peacefully joined the Natives because of the 15 soldier’s bones found at the site. On the other hand, you cannot say that they were forced, killed or enslaved because of the sign having no indication of a threat or any other signs of danger. But I also have to remember that these people were only humans and could have forgotten that they needed to put a cross on when they were in danger. And because the people who found the sign were human, I would also think that they did not check either the other side of whatever they found the word on, or if it was in a tree, that they did not check the branches for clues. These people were new to this land didn't know the weather patterns. I truly believe that they were warned by the native to move because they knew a storm was coming. Because of this, the soldiers manned their stations like they were supposed to and were killed by the storm along with whatever was left with them. If this is the case then the settlers were only trying to pay tribute with the natives by writing the name of the tribe on something and placing it in the area. Because the settlers did not have abundant supplies, they probably then decided to try to join the Natives. But because of the tribe’s history, each time a boy becomes a man, he is kicked out of the tribe and forced to create one of his own. Then the settlers came in and fostered these newly titles men and created a tribe of their own. This is what I THINK!!!!!! happened.... Any other ideas, guys? Please leave a comment on my comment if you come up with anything……(308)
ReplyDeleteSorry Mr. Haston for the sedulously long comment and I hope you have a fun time reading it!!!! or not.......
Deletestupid spell check.... sedulously was supposed to be redictulously...... mah bad
DeleteFirst off I have to go against all the people who believe the Lumbee theory. I mean, how would the have gone to the mainland to join the Natives. When John White when back to get the supplies I would only think he took the ship and I had never heard he took more than one ship. I am thinking the Croatoan Tribe went to visit then out of nowhere they person-napped them. That would have eliminated the chance for them to draw the cross. Then to the matter of the settling I think it would be hard. Finding new land and trying to learn to hunt when they didn't usually do it back in England. They had to get the ground ready and then grow the crops. I don't think they could have done that before they would have starved which also backs us my idea of what happened to them. There were around three years from the time John White left and when he went back, plenty of time to be person-napped.(171)
ReplyDeleteThis topic really interests me in a lot of ways like, the theories of how they disappeared, the story of Virginia Dare, and so much more. The theory I think was correct is the theory that they joined a Native American tribe, maybe becoming the Lumbee tribe that still exists today. I think the Roanoke people may have moved to a tribe for survival because their resources were limited. I can’t imagine living in a land 3,000 miles away from home because you have to start your whole life over and there’s nothing really there to rely on if you have trouble. Other than the friends or family that may have come with you, you are saying goodbye to everything you know. (122)
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Lumbee Connection theory could possibly be true. I say this because maybe they were running out of food and supplies, and they needed someone for help. So I guess the they helped them out because, there were no bones, houses or anything else found at Roanoke. One reason that I believe they went with them was because the Lumbees skin tone was medium-brown and not dark skin like the other Natives. Their eyes were also blue and gray instead of dark. Some of the Lumbees also had English names like Hyatt, Dial, and Taylor. Another thing was that they could read and write in English words. The main difficulties living 3,000 miles away from home would probably be your whole lifestyle. Your families, food, culture, animals, and languages would all change and so would your environment.(140)
ReplyDeleteEach of these theories have a well thought explanation, but I don't see how any of these theories could be true. The most common one, which is the Lumbee Connection sounds accurate, but didn't the Europeans mistreat the Natives? I wouldn't think they would marry them if they thought they were different than them. And also on the paper that we read in class about Roanoke said something about the settlers not having any women with them and they didn't want any of the natives' women. What is this telling us? That it was not likely that intermarriage happened between the natives and Europeans. The next theory states that the settlers fell victim to the Spanish. But weren't the Spanish in a war with England at that time? Shouldn't they have been helping their country fight, instead of invading Roanoke? The last theory is hard to debate. The theory says that the Native Americans became hostile and hostility usually involves killing. It is said there was no proof of harm to the settlers' houses like burning. How can there be no bones found, yet the natives becoming violent? Living somewhere that's 3,000 miles across the ocean from your original home must have been scary and risky. You wouldn't know what kind of food would grow well there, what kind of animals are there, in fact you probably wouldn't know much of anything about your new home. The settlers of Roanoke had to start a brand new life, while their disappearance is unknown. (251)
ReplyDeleteImagine leaving your home, school, friends, possibly family; in other words your life. That alone is very difficult, but the colonist of this time period had to do that on top of moving 3,000 miles away to a unexplored land that they didn't know anything about. The colonist had to take a big risk and had to put a lot of it up to faith. Sometimes it paid off like in Jamestown, but it didn't always work out. The Lost Colony of Roanoke is a mystery to everyone; however, the theories are many. The Lumbee Connection theory seems to be the most plausible one, but is it really? Think about this, most of the natives viewed the Europeans as gods and the Europeans thought lesser of the natives. That leaves us with the question of why would they marry each other. I personally don't think they would have. The eyewitness accounts on tribes that read English and had lighter skin doesn't really mean anything. First, as we learned in class not all eyewitness accounts are credible. Second, just because you are white or black or Native American doesn't mean you have the same colored skin as everyone else from your race. The theory about the hostile natives isn't all that credible either. If they had time to write out CROATOAN on a tree don't you think they would have managed to take three seconds to make a cross which is only two lines? Also, there were no signs of destruction in the village, they simply packed up and moved. Taking all of this into consideration I think all these theories are exactly that, THEORIES. No one has discovered the Lost Colony of Roanoke yet, and in my opinion this mystery will stay a mystery.
ReplyDelete[294]
Obviously, there are many theories as to what really happened to the people of Roanoke. Did they join forces with a nearby tribe? Were they captured? Destroyed altogether? No one knows. I think that the easiest theory to believe is that they were over-taken by the Croatoan group. It makes sense: they were left without a leader. They were confused, angered, and probably terrified. There was no official person or place they could fully rely on, like when they had John White. When they left their homes, they didn't know where they were going, yet the people were excited to go with him. They trusted him. Without someone to trust they were vulnerable. The Croatoan people probably were planning to take over Roanoke anyway, with their small amount of people. What better time is there then to take over when their leader has left them? (148)
ReplyDeleteThe belief that I think is the most true is that they joined the natives. They would have to because they have no knowledge of living off of the land. It would be almost impossible for them to be able to live without the supplies John White was suppose to be bringing. The natives probably adopted them into there everyday lives. At the same time I wonder if they adopted them right away or if there was a time of negotiating. The hardest thing for these people would probably be having to live off the land and trying to adopt the new lifestyle. They would have to basically mimic the natives to survive.(113)
ReplyDeleteAll of these theories could be true, based on the information given, but if I had to choose the one that seemed the most accurate, I would choose the Lumbee theory. It would make sense because if you think about it the colonists really were not educated enough to survive in this new land. The Natives were. They knew how things work and how to survive in that environment. This was all very new to the the colonists. Suppose, because that is really all we are doing is supposing, the colonists got in a bind and were starving. Being humans, they would pretty much do anything to fill their stomachs. The Natives had food, and offered them help. They would have gone, right? I mean, I would have. It was between life or death. Now the bones that were found might have been those that had refused to go, or had died before the Natives "rescued" them. Also, there was no cross on the tree, indicating they were not in danger. The picture of a Lumbee native is great evidence that this could possibly be true. The physical appearence greatly resembles what a Native/English person would have looked like. How else would they have become to look like this? Although this theory makes sense, it is sad that we can never truly know what happened to the Roanoke people. Then again, the mystery makes it interesting. (239)
ReplyDeletethe idea that the spanish conqued the spanish conqered them makes the most sense to me. the war between the two countries was the reason their leadre john white was not able to reaturn. the colony would be a prime target because it would remove englands presence from America. Spain would then be the only country in north amrican coast. the colony would have been ill equped to fight off an army. it would be an easy raid for the well traiend solders of the spainsh army. this is the most logical reason to me because the spainish had three years to kill them all. (109)
ReplyDeleteI think all the stories were believable but the most logical explanation to me the best is when the Roanoke civilians were killed is the best. If you were asked to come join some random people’s settlement and accepted would you/or the croatoans torch your own settlement? I sure would not. Also, if they went to live with the Croatoans that would explain the lack of bones where the settlement was, but if the Croatoans were resourceful and killed everyone don’t you think they would have taken the bones and extra remains to eat, wear, or display back at their home? (101)
ReplyDeleteP.S. Gilmoe, you forgot an “r” in your name and that a boy lee
Ok, so personally I know how it feels to get up and leave most of my family, friends , school, and your hometown and move to a place that I don't at all. Now what I don't know is how it feels to sail across an ocean for 3 months to a place that is uncharted and unexplored. That is or it at least sounds scary. And when you get up and leave like that, that is a feeling that you can only feel in that certain situation. It hurts to say goodbye to people and loved ones like that. I understand how they went through that, but what I don't understand is how they were probably never going to see any of those people ever again. Then again, others could have a different perspective as if it, it is a new adventure and they can't wait to do something new. Secondly, I really think that the Lumbee theory would have to be the most accurate. The other theory seemed to be just mere coincidence that someone just made up randomly. I think that after the Roanoke colonists came over to America, they started to set up their homes and preparing for their lives in America when they began to run out of supplies. So they sent their leader(which seems kind of weird that you would send the person in charge of them back over to England) to get more supplies back in England. By unfortunate events, John White got stuck in England because of the Spanish and English war and during that time the people of Roanoke began to starve. So, they went out for help and they adapted in with the Croatoan people. Its sounds very plain and simple, which seems too easy for some people so they are going off and trying to make it difficult. This is just what I believe and I could very well be wrong. And no one is ever going to really know what happened. It's just a mystery. (338)
ReplyDeleteP.S. I really don't understand why they sent their leader to England to get more supplies?? Why him? He was their leader. Wouldn't the colonists need someone to go if there was a conflict?? And why didn't anyone else go with him?
They probobly did send others Emma, they just were not important enough to mention.
DeleteAlso, would you send someone unreliable to get your towns food from some far away place? This might be the reason John White was sent and not anyone else.
That definitely was an interesting story! I had alredy figured that the colonists of Roanoke had left though. The question that is still naging in my head is, why did the colonists of Roanoke leave such a short message? Were they trying to make it mysterious for the people investigating them in the preatsent age? When you told us about the other natives found later with lighter skin then normal, and a blue eye color I figured that the colonists had left to join a neiboring native tribe. They probely figured that the leader of the first colonists had left for good, or had not reached home safely. So they went to get help from the natives. The natives (being so kind as they were) probely let them ito their tribe to live with them safely for the rest of their days. (143)
ReplyDeleteI think hairbrush made a great point! How could any of these be true? I dont just sit around and think " i wonder what happened?" I mean none of us know what really happened what im wondering is why do people really think about it when we have no idea what happened to them or anything! I do have to say that i dont think the Lumbee theory could be true. While i was reading i was thinking "if they went with the Lumbee then why would they carve Croatoan into a tree?" Maybe i misunderstood, i dont know but i really dont think its accurate. I dont really know which one i think is accurate but since i have to choose, i say the theory that they went with the Croatoans. I mean why else would they carve croatoan on a tree? Also, i have never experienced moving away from the state or anywhere far,but i do have a aunt and uncle who did. They moved to Florida when our whole family was here. It was really hard on us but i cant imagine how my aunt and uncle felt! I think this is similar to how the Roanoke might have felt. I think that if the leader didnt want them to leave,he shouldnt have left. (227)
ReplyDeleteAfter reading all of the theories, I think that the Lumbee Connection would be the most logical theory. This theory contains the most facts, but that doesn’t make it true. I thought it was interesting that some of the Roanoke people’s names were found in the Lumbee tribe. Some of the people in the tribe could speak, read, and write English. They had the eye color of the English people too. I also thought it was intriguing that a boy with fair skin and blond hair was found dressed as a Native American. This theory might work since there wasn’t a cross found with the word CROATOAN. The people must not have been in danger. Also, the people could have taken down their homes and brought some of the wood and their belongings with them. I thought that was a good observation, Abbygail when you mentioned that the Europeans mistreated the Natives, therefore not wanting to marry them or have anything to do with them. Maybe the Roanoke people were different and just wanted to try to colonize and start a new life. But maybe they weren’t. I don’t know about you but I would do A LOT of things if I was all alone and desperate for food and supplies. In a whole new environment, without your leader I would be pretty scared and open for any help available. These people were pretty brave leaving their old life to start a new one. Not knowing what would greet you in this new land, what things you could eat, or how to even try to survive in the middle of nowhere. This is a very fascinating topic that will probably remain a “history mystery” for years to come. {288}
ReplyDelete~1DirectionNiall4eve:)~
PS My profile pic is of the new 1D album cover! Can't wait!
what if the croatoan actually killed everybody and carved their names to be all like "yeah, we killed everybody, and what are YOU gonna do about it!" And the the settlers were all like, "Oh yeah, well we are gonna try again, and this time we WO'NT send our leaders for more supplies!" And they were all like "...... plz dont hurt us..."
ReplyDeleteI don't remember that in my history book...
DeleteIs this the GAV history book?!
(Gilmore Abridged Version)