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The Roanoke settlers attempted to establish an English colony on Roanoke Island twice in 1585 and 1586. The second attempt was successful for a while, but the colonists disappeared, leaving behind the word “CROATOAN” carved into a tree. Theories suggest they moved to nearby Croat Island, Pembroke, or Chesapeake Bay.
Croatoan Island is now known as Hatteras Island and is located near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The island’s history is associated with the Roanoke Settlers, the vanguard of English colonists who attempted twice, in 1585 and 1586, to establish an English colony on nearby Roanoke Island. The second attempt was successful for a while, but it is unknown what happened to the people who settled there.
Two efforts to colonize
In April 1585, English soldier Sir Walter Raleigh sent his first band of 100 settlers to establish a colony on Roanoke Island, but the expedition was unsuccessful and prompted another attempt at colonization the following year. Raleigh has entrusted the leadership of this second effort to his friend John White. White and his crew were successful, but he was soon forced out of the settlement and charged those left behind with instructions to leave a signal behind if they should move the settlement.
A clue left behind
The period of the second colonization effort coincided with England’s naval battle with the Spanish Armada. White found, therefore, that upon his return to England, all practicable sea-earthy vessels were being commandeered by the Navy to face the Spanish. This meant that White was unable to return to Roanoke Island until the 1590s, by which time he discovered the colonialists had gone and left little trace of themselves. However, they had left a small but significant clue as to their whereabouts: the word “CROATOAN” had been carved into a tree in the town square.
Three theories
Given the colony’s friendship with the neighboring tribe on Croat Island, and especially a Croat named Manteo, many people have inferred that the inscription means that the Roanoke Island colonists either fled or moved to the neighboring island. This theory is supported by explorer John Lawson’s encounters with the Hatteras Indians in the early 1700s. The Hatteras Indians were descendants of Croatoans, and Lawson described them as possessing European characteristics and being able to speak English.
Some people, however, are dissatisfied with this conclusion, and many conflicting theories have emerged that attempt to explain the colony’s mysterious disappearance in different terms. For example, Hamilton MacMillan, a North Carolina resident who lived near Pembroke, North Carolina, claimed that not only did the Pembroke Indians he met speak English, but they also bore the names of the original Roanoke settlers. He therefore concluded that the colony must have moved to the Pembroke region after leaving their original location.
Still others argue that after White’s departure, most of the colonists moved to where they originally intended to land: Chesapeake Bay. A few settlers stayed behind to inform White of their new position should he return. It has been supposed that this dwindling number of settlers was overrun and forced to flee to their Croatian allies, into which they were eventually assimilated.
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