Roanoke Island: The Beginnings of English America

by David Stick, North Carolina

Well before the Jamestown settlers first sighted the Chesapeake Bay or the Mayflower reached the coast of Massachusetts, the first English colony in America was established on Roanoke Island. David Stick tells the story of that fascinating period in North Carolina's past, from the first expedition sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584 to the mysterious disappearance of what has become known as the lost colony.

Included in the colorful cast of characters are the renowned Elizabethans Sir Francis Drake and Sir Richard Grenville; the Indian Manteo, who received the first Protestant baptism in the New World; and Virginia Dare, the first child born of English parents in America. Roanoke Island narrates the daily affairs as well as the perils that the colonists experienced, including their relationships with the Roanoacs, Croatoans, and the other Indian tribes. Stick shows that the Indians living in northeastern North Carolina -- so often described by the colonists as savages -- had actually developed very well organized social patterns.

The fate of the colonists left on Roanoke Island by John White in 1587 is a mystery that continues to haunt historians. A relief ship sent in 1590 found that the settlers had vanished. Stick makes available all of the evidence on which historians over the centuries have based their conjectures. Methodically reconstructing the facts -- and exposing the hoaxes -- he invites readers to draw their own conclusions concerning what happened.

Exploring the significance of that first English settlement in the New World, Stick concludes that speculation over the fate of the lost colony has overshadowed the more important fact that the Roanoke Island colonization effort helped prepare for the successful settlement of Jamestown two decades later. "Had it been otherwise," he contends, " those of us living here today might well be speaking Spanish instead of English."

The four hundredth anniversary of the exploration and settlement of what came to be called North Carolina occurred in 1984. For that occasion, America's Four Hundredth Anniversary Committee commissioned this factual and readable history.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction

266 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1983

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readable, classic, and interesting account of the settlement of Roanoke Island and of the lost colony. The biggest problem is author David Stick does not cite sources for particular assertions. He includes a "note on the sources," but nothing tied to specific portions of the text. Readers should probably pair this with a more up-to-date volume reviewing the theories of the lost colonies. Research since this book's appearance sheds additional light on the various theories. (3.5 stars)

[Joseph R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the great American mysteries is what happened to the colonists who settled on Roanoke Island in the late 1580s. After settlement, the governor headed back to England in 1587 to gather more resources and colonists. Due to various circumstances, relief ships did not return to the area until 1590. By that time the settlement was abandoned with only some cryptic carvings hinting at the fate of the colonists. Many theories were advance in the subsequent years and centuries.

This book starts with a quick overview of the earliest attempts by Europeans to come to America (including Brendan the Navigator and Leif Erickson). After Columbus's voyages, Spain established a strong foothold and amassed a great deal of wealth from the new lands and people. The English sent some early explorers (such as John Cabot) but made no sincere effort to colonize the Americas until almost a century after 1492. Sir Walter Raleigh obtained an official licence from Queen Elizabeth I to establish a base north of Spain's New World settlements. They planned to have an area which would serve as a legitimate settlement and as a base of operations for privateers to plunder the Spanish treasure ships sailing out of the Caribbean. The 1585 expedition set up a small fort on Roanoke Island. The island is sheltered by the Outer Banks, an the island chain separating the Atlantic Ocean from modern-day North Carolina. The initial English settlers tried both diplomacy and strong-arm tactics with the local tribes. The result was a very uneasy relationship on both sides. In 1587, a larger fleet came with men, women, and children to establish a long-term colony under Governor John White. White's daughter Eleanor gave birth to Virginia Dare at the colony, the first child born of British parents in America. He left his daughter and granddaughter behind to seek aid from Raleigh and Elizabeth, both of whom had many other interests occupying them. They were dealing with Spain on their side of the Atlantic, including the conflict with the Spanish Armada. White's tragic return in 1590 left a mystery that has endured.

Author David Stick does a great job using academic and contemporary resources to retell the story. The English efforts were often hampered by divided goals--often fleets that came to the Americas from England were more interested in plundering Spanish assets than in supporting colonizing efforts. Various leaders had personal conflicts with each other, causing more problems.

The final few chapters of the book are devoted to various theories about what happened to the colonists. Stick debunks quite a few theories out of hand (there were false diaries from Eleanor Dare (mother of Virginia Dare) for example). He admits that no one knows for sure and he endorses a few possibilities as equally likely. Native Chieftain Powhatan claimed to have killed the colonists; he probably did kill some of them. Others claim the colonists took a ship back to England and were lost at sea; the ship they were left with was not large enough to take all of them, though probably some of them did leave that way. Others claim the colonists moved to Croatan further south ("Croatan" was the cryptic carving), possibly joining the tribe there; probably some did since they intended to move in the spring to a more hospitable spot. Others claim they joined other local (or not-so-local) tribes; this also seems likely, though not some of the far away tribes like the Lumbees on the North Carolina/South Carolina border. Such speculations are not mutually exclusive--some colonists could have been killed by Powhatan while others sailed off to England or the Caribbean while still others intermarried with the locals.

This book has a nice blend of breadth and depth. It looks at the big picture and is able to get into enough detail to make it personal and compelling. The final review of possibilities covers a lot in a succinct and fascinating manner. I enjoyed the book a lot and learned a lot too.

Highly recommended.

[Gretchen Fatouros · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first picked up the book, I guess I wasn’t ready. Started again with chapter one and moved alone rather nicely, but also very detailed. You will realize how important all this back story becomes to help you try to figure out what happened to the lost colonists.

I actually never heard of this until reading a Haddix book about kids pulled from history. Then we visited the area in 2015 with the family. All we learned on that family trip makes a bit more sense put info full perspective from the beginning. I am surprised they didn’t look further for the lost colony in 1890. I really thought they had.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In many respects it was a nearly idyllic existence. Until, that is, the civilized Englishmen arrived."

I picked this up years ago on one of our family Outer Banks vacations. I thought it might prove dry reading, but surprised me for its lively and entertaining tone. It was absolutely fascinating for me to learn a little bit more about the English explorers, their constant back-and-forth with Spain over land and sea, and the wonderfully curious lives of various native tribes and confederations. Their openness to strangers never ceases to astound me.

[Nikkikop · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book to learn about what life was like during this time period. The author does a fantastic job providing the reader of all the "small" events that had an influence on the lost colony. At times it seemed a timeline was forced down my throat but quickly "the story" would get back on track. I would recommend this book for someone interested on this subject.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up on the Outer Banks last year on a visit to Roanoke Island and I found this book fascinating. It's written by a historian in a scholarly vein, but it's very readable.

[mairead mcgill · Rating 1 out of 5]

To be completely honest I had high hopes for this book. Then I opened it and saw how tiny the words were.
There are a lot of moments in history that I've been obsessed with. This was one of them. But I never knew all the facts, so when I got this book for Christmas, I was excited. But no.
I went into it expecting to hear about the mystery of the lost colony. Instead, I got boooooring talk of colonization. It was so incredibly boring that I almost dnf. It took me two months to get through. I struggled through just to get to the end to find out what actually happened to the colonists. But when I finally got there, I was so disappointed, because it was so poorly written. Like, I'm not a scholar bro no thanks.
After suffering through the whole book, I think I'm more confused about what happened to the lost colonists of Roanoke.

[Kay Mcgriff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always been fascinated by the Lost Colony. My husband picked up this title on our recent vacation to the NC Outer Banks. This is a comprehensive summary of the events leading up to and following Sir Walter Raleigh's Lost Colony. It is fairly readable for a more scholarly work. I just wish there was some way to know for certain what happened to those English men and women. I would like to think (and some evidence suggests) that at least some of them survived and lived with the Croatan Indians or other groups. Even though new clues are tantalizing, we will probably never know exactly what happened. I did find it interesting that none of the bookstores/gift shops carried Lee Miller's Roanoke: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony. I found her theories intriguing.

[Sarah Babkov · Rating 5 out of 5]

We visited Manteo, North Carolina recently, and there was much talk about the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke Island. However, I felt like I was missing a lot of the context for how the colonists wound up on this island if they were aiming for Chesapeake, why there was such a delay in English attempts in colonization of North America (i.e. why did it take them until the 1580s to attempt settlement?), and how these colonists could have been abandoned. This was recommended to me when I stepped into a local bookstore and asked for more context, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the contents. It’s exactly what I wanted! Many texts focus on theories about what happened to the “lost colonists” but this one was comprehensive in explaining English presence in early North American exploration. Highly recommend!!

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read which provides what I believe to be a complete account of the Roanoke Island colony. The book deals with familiar characters such as Sir Walter Raleigh, John White, and others, in their relation to the Lost Colony. The book is excellent in presenting all of the calamitous issues faced in the establishment of Fort Raleigh along with a little bit of the excitement in the exploration of the New World. There are a lot of interesting characters talked about in the book that you never hear of in the general history, and the book also explores all of the theories concerning the fate of the Lost Colonists. It's a great book to read especially if are visiting the Lost Colony, though there may be newer books now that have more pictures and maps.

[Yaaresse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jamestown and Williamsburg get all the press, but Roanoke was the site of the still unsolved Lost Colony Mystery. (Although recent research is getting closer to solving things.) I had a fixation on this mystery for a while, and read a lot about the area and the Lost Colony. Drove my school librarian crazy demanding new books about it.

[David R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stick ably codifies the best historical understanding of the "Lost Colony" in the wake of the 500th Anniversary of its passing. I think he breathed a little more life into the account and thoughtfully dissected the many theories about the ultimate fate of the colonists.

[Joseph Ficklen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would recommend this book to anyone to get a good narrative about the colonization efforts at Roanoke. It explores the mystery and the different solutions to that mystery without indulging in it. However, this book has no bibliography or notes, only an afterward about sources.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unless there's been a revision, this book is undoubtedly outdated now, but back when I read it it was interesting.

[Benjamin Plume · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shed some light on my favorite historical mystery, but without resolving the mystery.

[Michelle Lloyd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doesn't get to the disappearance of the colonists until 20 pages from the end of the book. As a reference material, it's pretty weak.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

The clearest, most straightforward book written on the Lost Colony. Perhaps not the best, but certainly the clearest written book on the subject.