This three-page graduate paper examines and analyzes the colonial history of North Carolina and provides a commentary on the colonial records of the colony. The author notes that North Carolina's colonial records provide a fascinating primary source for scholars and students interested in studying the early history of North Carolina. These records reveal in much greater detail than most sources the social, political, religious, and economic events that shaped North Carolina history, and shed much needed light on North Carolina's long colonial era.
             As has been the case in almost every geographic region settled by different groups
             of people traveling from distant lands in search of freedom and opportunity, the early colonial settlers of North Carolina struggled with issues of government, taxation, and religion. Colonial records reveal that opinions among them varied as to what religious beliefs were correct, what form of worship should be practiced, and what kind of government would be the most conducive to promoting the social, religious, economic, and political welfare of the colonists.
             From perusing North Carolina's colonial records, I noted with interest that in 1524, Giovanni da Verrazonoa became the first European to explore North Carolina, but my greatest interest was in the first effort made by the English to establish a colony in Roanoke. One hundred sixteen men, women, and children settled on Roanoke Island,
             but within three years they had vanished, leaving only a clue in the form of the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree.
             Solving the Roanoke mystery is beyond the scope of this paper, but researching the North Carolina Colonial Records is the best course to pursue for those interested in examining the sequence of events that led to this tragedy. While Roanoke remains a mystery, it can be established
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