Jamestown
The story of Jamestown was one of America's first documented mysteries. There are clear facts about this voyage that have been documented. In 1587, John White did make a temporary establishment on or near Roanoke Island, and that after leaving for three years did return to the island in 1590. On his return, all traces of the colonist having lived there for those three years had vanished. No Jamestown colonist is known to be seen from again. So what happened to them during those three years? Jamestown, which was led by Governor John White, landed on Roanoke Island between April and late July 1587 and was a royal grantee of Sir Walter Raleigh. Jamestown was a small, self-supporting community that was suppose to be protected by the Chesapeake Indians who were know to help English visitors. The colony was made up mostly of people on the middle to lower social and economic ladder. These people were willing to work for a living, farming or do crafts to form an English society on American soil. Each colonist was in turn given 500 acres for their trouble. 150 persons intended to start the voyage to America in the spring but because of financial troubles only 118 were finally able to set sail. The voyage was an unhappy
All squadrons were forbidden to sail, but on April 15, 1588 White slipped away bearing only fifteen additional men. Fernandes was a suspected of wanting to steal the Spanish ships, but White interfered with his plans and the ship arrived safely at Hatarask Inlet on July 22, 1587. The first was the landing of an Irish captain, William, most likely in August of 1587. He made it through the Bay, the first to do it on record, but found no traces of an English settlement and saw few Indians. So it is the assumption that the Chesapeake Indians were friendly and cooperative. A small segment of a village recently excavated in 1981-82 on the west side of Broad Bay and linked with Lynnhaven Bay, is likely to been a Chesapeake community of some size. White made it clear in his narrative that they did not try to sail to Croataon because the water had become so rough that the anchor cables were no longer adequate to hold the ships. From 1603 to around 1609 there are substantial but yet circumstantial indications. These men expected White anytime after Easter and probably grew impatient, so there is no assurance that they stayed on the island any time after June 1588. However there were about seventy males in the group and only eighteen females, this left fifty males who would have either married Indian women or remained without partners. They first found the tree with "CRO" marked on it, then reached the place where the men were suppose to await his arrival. The Hardships for White at sea were no less. Sir George Carey, a probable backer of White's expedition, governor of Isle of Wright, had sent the privateer, "Swallowe", out of its way to check on the colonist. This construction of the palisade involved considerable labor and must have taken some time to build.
Common topics in this essay:
Croatoan Mantoe,
Virginia Dare,
Chesapeake Bay,
Roanoke Island,
Chesapeake Indians,
Native American,
John White,
Island Frame,
Bay Armada,
Principal Navigations,
chesapeake bay,
roanoke island,
jamestown colonist,
english settlement,
white returned,
john white,
happened jamestown,
stay roanoke island,
outer banks,
return trip,
chesapeake indians,
awaiting white's return,
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Acceptance Essays
