Roanoke Theory
Introduction. Perhaps the greatest mystery of America’s past, the lost colony of Roanoke has astounded Americans for years. With the colonists appearing to dissolve into thin air, America’s earliest colony has spurred abundant research into the fate of the settlement. While research has resulted in a plethora of theories regarding what caused the demise of the colony, findings have most directly supported three overarching theories: disease, massacre, and assimilation into Native American tribes.
Brief History of Roanoke. Arriving in Roanoke, North Carolina in 1587, John White, along with 100 fellow colonists from England, formed the first permanent settlement in North America. As the colonists began to run out of resources, John White returned …show more content…
When the settlers arrived in North America, they were bombarded with new diseases and pathogens they were not immune to. Because immunities to these new illnesses were not yet developed, colonists would more readily fall ill without the ability to overcome the disease (Basu). With one swift blow of a new disease, the entire colony could have easily been wiped out.
Theory Two. Another dominant theory of the demise of the Roanoke colony, states the colonists were killed by neighboring Native American tribes.
Massacre. With an exhaustive history of strife between the American Indians and colonists, especially over food, when a time of drought hit from 1587 to 1589, a fatal fight could have materialized due to scarce resources. The “Croatoan”, a considerable Native American tribe of the region, could have been the tribe charged with the massacre of the colonists as “Croatoan” was the clue left by colonists (“Vanished into Thin Air”). Under harsh conditions such as a drought, tensions could rise and lead to conflict and quarrel between competing populations.
Theory Three. The last prevailing theory for the collapse of the lost colony encompasses ideas from theories one and two. When an unfortunate event, whether it be disease or poor relations with Native Americans occurred, it is believed that colonists split into small groups and assimilated into various Native American
Brief History of Roanoke. Arriving in Roanoke, North Carolina in 1587, John White, along with 100 fellow colonists from England, formed the first permanent settlement in North America. As the colonists began to run out of resources, John White returned …show more content…
When the settlers arrived in North America, they were bombarded with new diseases and pathogens they were not immune to. Because immunities to these new illnesses were not yet developed, colonists would more readily fall ill without the ability to overcome the disease (Basu). With one swift blow of a new disease, the entire colony could have easily been wiped out.
Theory Two. Another dominant theory of the demise of the Roanoke colony, states the colonists were killed by neighboring Native American tribes.
Massacre. With an exhaustive history of strife between the American Indians and colonists, especially over food, when a time of drought hit from 1587 to 1589, a fatal fight could have materialized due to scarce resources. The “Croatoan”, a considerable Native American tribe of the region, could have been the tribe charged with the massacre of the colonists as “Croatoan” was the clue left by colonists (“Vanished into Thin Air”). Under harsh conditions such as a drought, tensions could rise and lead to conflict and quarrel between competing populations.
Theory Three. The last prevailing theory for the collapse of the lost colony encompasses ideas from theories one and two. When an unfortunate event, whether it be disease or poor relations with Native Americans occurred, it is believed that colonists split into small groups and assimilated into various Native American