The Roanoke voyages 



There's more than a Lost Colony 



For most people, Sir Walter 

 Raleigh's colonization attempts hold a 

 vague memory of a colony lost, but 

 never found, and a child named 

 Virginia. Ask folks what Ralph Lane, 

 Arthur Barlowe and Sir Richard Gren- 

 ville mean to Raleigh's efforts and 

 they draw a blank. 



But Raleigh sponsored three 

 voyages to North America — one for 

 exploration and two for colonization. 

 All of these efforts involved a small 

 island that today we call Roanoke. 



Under a charter granted by Queen 

 Elizabeth I, Raleigh's first expedition 

 of two ships set sail from Plymouth, 

 April 27, 1584, led by Philip Amadas 

 and Arthur Barlowe. These explorers 

 were charged with finding a suitable 

 site for a subsequent colony. 



April 1584 — Amadas and 

 Barlowe set sail from Plymouth, 

 England 



Utilizing the circular wind patterns 

 of the Atlantic Ocean, the expedition 

 sailed south to the Caribbean, then 

 north with the Gulf Stream. On July 

 13, 1584, the voyagers anchored off the 

 Outer Banks, calling their anchorage 

 Port Ferdinando after their pilot, 

 Simon Ferdinando. They claimed the 

 nearby land for their queen. 



The English established friendly 

 contact with the native Algonkian In- 

 dians soon after their arrival. They 

 traded items such as clothing and tin 

 cups for the Indians' deerskins and 

 food. 



After a trust had been built be- 

 tween the Indians and English, 

 Barlowe and seven other men took 

 a small boat to visit an Indian village 

 on an island called "Roanoak" about 

 20 miles away. 



No one knows how far the English 

 explorers traveled during the 1584 ex- 



pedition. Barlowe, who recorded a 

 brief history of the voyage, wrote of an 

 "inclosed sea" (probably the Pamlico 

 Sound) and numerous islands. He also 

 wrote extensively about the abun- 

 dance of fruit, wild game, fish and 

 forestland. 



In August, the 1584 expedition set 

 sail for England, taking two Indians, 



Raleigh never sailed on the voy- 

 ages he sponsored 



Manteo and Wanchese. And, if 

 Spanish reports are accurate, the ship 

 commanded by Amadas stopped at 

 Chesapeake Bay, where it met with 

 hostility from the Indians there. 



As a result of this expedition, 

 Raleigh was knighted in 1585. The 

 land discovered was named Virginia in 

 honor of the virgin Queen Elizabeth 

 and Raleigh was authorized as its lord 

 and governor. 



In April of 1585, Raleigh launched 

 another expedition that included seven 

 ships and 600 men under the command 

 of Sir Richard Grenville. Also aboard 

 were Ralph Lane, the governor of the 

 colony; John White, an artist; Thomas 

 Harriot, a scientist; and Manteo and 

 Wanchese. 



April 1585 — Grenville and Lane 

 set sail from Plymouth, England 



In the fight against the Spanish, 

 Raleigh had charged this expedition 

 with establishing a colony and a 

 military outpost. The 1585 colonists 

 were soldiers and adventurers who 

 hoped to find quantities of gold and 

 silver like the Spanish had found in 

 Central and South America. 



The Grenville expedition arrived off 

 Cape Fear near the end of June. Then 

 they explored the Pamlico Sound in 

 small, shallow-draft boats. During this 

 exploration, Grenville burned the In- 

 dian village, Aquascogoc, to force the 

 return of a missing silver cup. 



After this unfortunate incident, 

 Grenville moved north to establish a 

 colony on Roanoke Island in late July. 

 One month later Grenville returned to 

 England, leaving behind 107 men, a 

 newly completed fort and the promise 

 of return by Easter to replenish sup- 

 plies. 



In the fall, Lane sent an exploration 

 party north to the Chesapeake. Some 

 historians believe this party overwin- 

 tered there before returning to 

 Roanoke Island in the spring. During 

 the spring of 1586, Lane also detached 

 men to explore the Albemarle Sound 

 and the lower waters of the Chowan 

 and Roanoke Rivers. 



Through drawings and notes, White 

 and Harriot recorded much of what 

 the colonists saw as they explored. 



