In school we all learn about the many great Historic events that shaped the world to what it is today. And there is much we can learn from them and our past. But there are some Historic events that most of us don't ever hear about.
But just because they're not as big, doesn't make them any less interesting... I am going to share with you one example of this, the lost colony of Roanoke.
This colony, established to be a permanent English presence in the New World, was founded in 1585. Now, the area where this was founded, is Dare County, N.C., which is named after the first child to be born in this colony, Virginia Dare.
Queen Elizabeth 1 gave her permission for this and she granted a charter, which is basically something allowing him to start this colony, to Sir Walter Raleigh.
After some time, a colony was established and the people made peace with the Croatoan (k-roh-a-toh-en) people that lived there.
But as the year went on, The villagers began to get low on supplies. They nominated John White, who had been named governor to sail back to England or Supplies.
Before he left, he told the villagers that if they were ever in danger, or if something happened, that they were to carve Maltese Cross onto a tree or fence post. (on the left in the picture below)
So he sailed to England to do this. But his return was delayed because a naval war had broken out and the Queen needed all her ships or combat. He stayed there, fighting the war or three years before finally being allowed to return to his colony.
However, when he arrived the colony was gone...it had disappeared. There was no sign to indicate an attack or a raid, but there was no one there. Plus, every house had been taken apart, so this meant they must not have been in a rush to leave.
The only thing they found was the word "CROATOAN" carved into a post of the fence that had been built around the village. Although some historians believe that the people turned to the natives there and integrated into their society, it can't be proved. and to this day, this mystery remains unsolved.
If you are interested in seeing more posts like this, let us know! What interesting History topics are you learning about?
Happy Learning!
Pure Discovery