Although the title of this post may not be entirely true, our super short days did not slow down our investigation into the lost colony of Roanoke. Investigating the lost colony is particularly frustrating because of the lack of evidence. Trying to figure out what happened to a colonial settlement 400 years ago really makes you appreciate how far we have come with forensic investigations. Our story begins in 1587 when John White led about 150 colonists to Roanoke in an attempt to settle an English colony. Among the group was his daughter, Eleanor, who gave birth to a baby, Virginia in August (the first English born settler in America). By October, the colony was running low on supplies. White was forced to return to England, but was unable to return for 3 years! According to his journal, he did not find any settlers. The only clue to their whereabouts was the word "CROATOAN" carved into a tree. White took this clue to mean settlers joined a nearby (and friendly) Native American tribe. Unfortunately, White's crew was unwilling to search the nearby islands for settlers. They returned to England without any proof the colonists were safe. Students were skeptical. They wondered why a father would not search further for the location of his daughter and granddaughter. This is the part that always gets me...why wouldn't the crew search the island for more clues? Perhaps take a quick trip over to the local Croatoan tribe to find out if they knew anything. It's possible White was in denial and would rather believe what he wanted to believe than discover the truth, but it's still outrageously frustrating that he didn't search just a little bit longer. But, I digress. Most students came to the conclusion that the colonists were attached and killed by natives. This is mostly based on evidence from "artifacts" known as the Dare Stones. The Dare Stones are a collection of stones found in 1937 inland along the coast with messages from Eleanor Dare (White's daughter) describing starvation and desperation as she and seven others flee the hostile Indians. Historians disagree on the authenticity of the Dare Stones. Some argue they provide compelling pieces of evidence, while others dismiss them as a hoax. It's safe to say most students support the former. While the most widely held belief about the settlers is that they assimilated to a local Indian tribe, many people still question why the settlement was such a mess if they simply decided to leave...Unfortunately, we may never know exactly what happened to the settlers. This is a good reminder that history is an argument about the past...we weren't there to witness it, so we do our best to explain it with evidence!
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October 2015
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