Roanoke colony, on an island off the coast of North Carolina, was explored by Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe in 1584 under the orders of Sir Walter Raleigh, who then arranged an expedition commanded by Sir Richard Grenville who sailed in April 1585 with 100 colonists and landed in June. The first settlement only lasted from 1585-6; the colonists, having suffered shortages of provisions and attacks from local Native American tribes, decamped with Sir Francis Drake in 1586, just a few weeks before Grenville arrived with more supplies only to find the colony deserted. Grenville left a handful of men to maintain the colonial claim and in July 1587 John White arrived with 150 settlers to find the colony destroyed and only one survivor. …
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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Roanoke Colony founded". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 June 2005 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=964, accessed 23 November 2024.]
