Colony Motivations
The European country that sponsored the Roanoke settlement to establish its first permanent footprint in North America.
The full word found carved into a wooden fort post when John White returned to Roanoke in 1590.
CROATOAN
Theory A states that the colonists survived by doing this with local Native American tribes.
Assimilation
The year the English established their next permanent colony at Jamestown, 17 years after discovering Roanoke was lost.
1607
The Governor of Roanoke who returned to England for supplies in 1587 and was trapped there for three years.
John White
The wealthy English nobleman who funded the entire Roanoke expedition out of his own personal fortune.
Sir Walter Riley
The three letters carved into a nearby tree near the abandoned settlement.
CRO
Official historical documents preserved in this Spanish city prove that Spain did not destroy Roanoke because they couldn't find it.
Seville
Unlike Roanoke, which was funded by one rich man, Jamestown was funded by a business entity that pooled money from multiple investors.
Joint Stock Company
The granddaughter of John White, famous for being the first English child born in the Americas.
Virginia Dare
England wanted a strategic base on the North American coast to launch these state-sanctioned pirates against Spanish treasure ships.
privateers
The missing symbol above the carvings that proved the settlers were not leaving in a panic or under attack.
Later English settlers at Jamestown recorded meeting Native Americans with these distinct physical traits, supporting the assimilation theory.
European Features
The name of the joint-stock company that financed and managed the settlement of Jamestown.
Virginia Company
The major naval conflict in 1588 between England and Spain that prevented supply ships from returning to Roanoke for three years.
Spanish Armada
European powers were competing for wealth, land, and this non-existent, direct water route through North America to Asia.
Northwest Passage
This key physical clue about the structures indicated the colonists planned their move and took materials with them.
The Houses Were Taken Down
Theory B suggests that settlers split up and moved to this geographic region near the bay, where the original colony was intended to go.
Chesapeake Bay Region
Instead of settling on an exposed barrier island like Roanoke, Jamestown leaders picked a site further inland on this body of water for defense.
What is the James River?
The modern-day island where the friendly Croatoan tribe lived, located roughly 50 miles south of Roanoke Island.
Hatteras Island
England was locked in a fierce economic and religious rivalry with this wealthy European empire during the late 1500s.
Spain
Recent archaeological excavations at "Site X" found this type of 16th-century English artifact buried inside Native American sites.
English Pottery
The primary reason Theory A (Assimilation) is considered the most plausible by modern historians.
Cravings, and Dismantled houses
The major financial advantage of a joint-stock company over a single investor when funding risky colonial ventures.
Spreading Financial Risk
The local Native American leader who traveled to England, befriended the settlers, and led the Croatoan people.
Chief Manteo