American History Tellers - Lost Colony of Roanoke | In the Name of the Queen | 1

Episode Date: June 30, 2021

In the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth the First of England was locked in a battle for global dominance with Spain. She picked her favorite advisor, Walter Raleigh, to claim land in North America. In the coming years, Raleigh’s men made several voyages and explored the area known as the Outer Banks, in what is now North Carolina. There, they identified one island as a promising site for a future colony: Roanoke.But as relations with the area’s indigenous people soured, and a drought brought famine to the region, England’s first attempts to establish a permanent base on Roanoke ended in failure. Still, the Queen knew that success on the new continent was key to her empire. Soon, she would send 117 men, women, and children to establish a permanent colony in the New World. But none of them could possibly imagine the hardships that lay ahead.Listen to new episodes 1 week early and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/historytellers.Support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge new seasons of American History Tellers early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Imagine it's July 22nd, 1587. You're the captain of a small sailing ship, and you're preparing to deliver a landing party to an island called Roanoke, off the eastern coast of the New American continent. It's daybreak and very foggy. You can barely see your mother vessel, the Lion, even though it's just yards away.

With you on deck is John White. He used to be governor of a new colony, Virginia, named in honor of England's Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I. The chosen site of the colony is another hundred miles up the coast. But first, you're stopping here at Roanoke to look for a group of soldiers left behind by a previous expedition. White turns to you and smiles. Oh, it'll be good to be off the ship for a few hours, back on dry land. Can we cast off soon? Yes, as soon as the fog lifts. I can't sail blind through waters this shallow. For both you and White, this is your second expedition to Roanoke. As a sailor, you despise this place. It has no natural harbor, just exposed beaches,

surrounded by treacherous sandbars that shift with every tide. But White, an artist and scientist, seems to love it here. He inhales deeply. Oh, smell that. So many exotic new plants just waiting to be sketched and catalogued. Well, sir, all I smell is salt air and bird droppings. The fog is finally starting to lift. Now you can see it. Roanoke, a small, heavily forested island about a half mile away. But before you can cast off, you hear a crew member calling from the deck of the Lion. White squints at the mothership, trying to hear the orders. What did he say? Sounds like there are new orders. The captain wants to leave all colonists on Roanoke.

You and White exchange stunned looks. This contradicts the instructions of your expedition's patron, Sir Walter Raleigh. You call back. Orders received, but did he say why? Again, White can't hear the crew member on the other ship. What is he saying? Captain Fernandez says the summer is too far gone for him to safely get his ship up to the Chesapeake and then back to Europe

before hurricane season. He needs all the colonists to disembark at once. Neither of you can believe what you're hearing. Well, you're the governor. Do you agree with the captain's command? There are women and children on this ship. White studies the treeeline shores of Roanoke in the distance, then seems to make a decision. I'm not going to contend with the captain's orders. Let's see the condition of the men left here on Roanoke. They had a strong fort and two years' worth of supplies. Perhaps with that foundation, this place can become our home. You watch White straighten his shoulders and adjust his hat. His mind seems

to be made up, so you order your crew to raise the sails and head for Roanoke. But you can see the worry on White's face too, and you're worried as well. You know from your past visit to this little island that it's surrounded by Indian tribes, tribes that have grown increasingly hostile towards English explorers. You're not sure what they'll make of this latest group of settlers, the first to include women and children. But you know that whatever happens, for this colony to survive, you'll have to be prepared to defend it.

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Follow Kill List wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Kill List and more Exhibit C True Crime shows like Morbid early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. From Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American History Tellers. Our history, your story. On our show, we'll take you to the events, the times, and the people that shaped America and Americans, our values, our struggles, and our dreams. We'll put you in the shoes of everyday citizens as history was being made. And we'll show you how the events of the times affected them, their families, and affects you now. The more than 100 men, women, and children who arrived on Roanoke Island in the summer of 1587 found themselves in a precarious position. On the edge of a vast, unexplored continent, they would attempt to become England's first

permanent settlement in the New World. But Roanoke was not the colonists' original destination. It was supposed to be a temporary stop to pick up fifteen soldiers who had stayed behind a year before to guard a hastily constructed military outpost. But the captain of the colonists' ship refused to take them further up the coast to Chesapeake Bay, where they were supposed to settle. Instead, the colonists would be left on Roanoke Island to fend for themselves. They would brave death, disease, and conflict with the local Native Americans. Three decades before the English pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, the families on Roanoke would establish the beginnings of a village, the first of its kind

in North America. And for several months, it appeared that the Roanoke colony would be successful. But then, all of the colonists vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a cryptic message carved into a tree, a mystery that has confounded historians for generations. This is episode one of our two-part series on the lost colony of Roanoke, in the name of the Queen. In 1584, two English explorers and a small contingent of men sailed to the east coast of the North American continent. They landed about 100 miles south of Chesapeake Bay, on an island between the coastal barrier islands called the Outer Banks and the mainland of what is now North Carolina. They set sail as tensions were rising between England and Spain, two of

Europe's most powerful nations. Queen Elizabeth I was supporting a Protestant revolt in the Netherlands against Catholic Spain. Both the British and the Spanish had their sights on territory and sea routes that they hoped would make them the dominant global power. The island the explorers landed on was about ten miles long and two miles wide. It was wedged in between a longer island to the east, called Croatoan, and the mainland on the west. The English called this island Roanoke, which was also the name of the Native American tribe that lived there. The English explorers were sent by Walter Raleigh, a poet, statesman, soldier, and spy. He was also one of the favorite

courtiers of Queen Elizabeth. In 1584, the queen granted him a royal contract to explore North America and claim it for her. The monarch was desperate to have an English colony in the New World. She hoped to find a source of gold, silver, and other precious minerals, along with furs and timber. She also wanted a base of operations for English privateers to make raids on the Spanish, who already controlled much of modern-day Florida and the Caribbean. But in the 1580s, voyages across the Atlantic could be harrowing. Storms were a constant threat, and ships were routinely lost on the open sea. If the weather cooperated, it took about four weeks to sail from England to the Caribbean.

There, ships had to contend with privateers and pirates. But since the Caribbean was home to the only permanent European settlements where ships could replenish their supplies, they had no choice. And from there, sailing up the coast of Virginia took about another week. On board, conditions were often miserable. Only the officers slept in hammocks. Everyone else lay their blankets wherever they could find room, typically in the damp middle deck, which they shared with rats and fleas.

While on the open seas, crews and colonists survived on heavily salted meat, a porridge of dried fish and pea soup, and some hardtack biscuit. As the weeks went by, the meat usually spoiled, and the biscuits became infested with weevils. The queen, of course, would not let Raleigh himself risk such a lengthy and hazardous voyage. The two had a close relationship, and she feared for his safety. So Raleigh picked two emissaries and a crew to sail across the Atlantic and find a suitable site for the colony on his behalf. Raleigh's representatives made landfall

on July 13, 1584, and stayed in the Outer Banks until August. Their short time there was fruitful. They made friends with two Native American groups, the Roanoke and the Croatoan. Though the explorers had arrived in a region where several well-established tribes lived, each with their own leadership, systems of family ties, and shifting alliances. The explorers were treated well by the Native Americans they came in contact with, and given vital supplies that helped them survive, like fish, venison, and a wine, which was safer to drink than water. In return, the English gave the Indians iron tools, like short swords and axes, as well as glass jars and beads. During their stay, the English noted that although Roanoke Island lacked a natural harbor, it had other strategic advantages. It was protected by the barrier islands of the Outer Banks, making it

easy to scoop fish from the calm, shallow waters. It also had easy access to the ocean and other islands for trade. And it was difficult to see from the open ocean, making it an ideal place to hide from the Spanish. This brief reconnaissance mission gathered vital information and established relations with indigenous communities. But the goal was not yet to establish a colony, so after about a month, the whole expedition returned home to England. Sailing back with them were two Native Americans. One cheese was Roanoke, and Manteo was Crotolan.

Though they lived on different islands, they were related by kinship, and both were respected leaders in their communities. The English considered this first expedition to the New World a resounding success. Queen Elizabeth was so pleased that in January of 1585, she knighted Walter Raleigh, and investors scrambled to put their money into another trip. This second journey would strengthen trade with Native Americans and establish a military base in the land Raleigh decided to call Virginia in honor of his queen. Meanwhile, Juanchis and Manteo stayed at Raleigh's estate in London,

and sometimes with a linguist who had also been part of the expedition. Manteo even worked with the linguist to create an English Algonquin dictionary. But Juanchis did not participate. He had grown suspicious of the English and the way they seemed to hoard belongings and treat their women as inferiors. In England, he felt more like a captive than a guest. Over the next several months, Raleigh made preparations for the second voyage. Once again, the queen did not want Raleigh to leave her side,

so he appointed his 52-year-old cousin, Sir Richard Grenville, to lead the expedition. Grenville was a wealthy aristocrat who had spent a few years colonizing Ireland and serving as a sheriff and member of Parliament. Despite his noble birth, he had a reputation as a brawler and a heavy drinker who liked to show off his toughness by eating broken glass. Like many ambitious English noblemen, he longed to be an explorer and was thrilled when his cousin Raleigh gave him the opportunity. Grenville recruited a crew that were both skilled soldiers and willing to spend months at sea and more months exploring a strange wilderness. He did this as quietly as possible,

so nothing about the trip would leak to the Spanish. Tensions between the two nations were rising daily. The last thing Raleigh and Grenville wanted was to provoke an attack on their expensive ships, or worse, alert Spain to the location of their potential new colony. Imagine it's April 1585

on a cold, foggy morning at the docks of Plymouth, England. You're a dock worker. You're loading barrels full of salted cod into a three-masted ship called the Tiger. It's back-breaking and repetitive work, but you've done it for years, ever since you got too old for the hardships of life at sea. You greet a fellow dock worker as he arrives to give you a hand. About time I'm afraid you were sleeping off the whiskey.

No. Just takes me longer to move these old bones in the morning. Where's this one off to? Someplace far, judging from how it's provisioned. There's enough salt caught here to last a hundred men six months or longer. Just then, a team of dock workers passes carrying another kind of cargo. Stacks of pikes and guns and crates of gunpowder. Their friend eyes the arsenal and whistles softly.

Someplace hostile, too. Well, anywhere on the open sea is hostile now. We'll be at war with Spain any day now. You carry on rolling the heavy barrels of cod up the planks to the ship's hull. You're almost finished when a well-dressed man in a trim beard and ruffled collar approaches. You there, have you seen Captain Dremble? Apologies, sir, we're just the stevedores. We're not acquainted with the captain or any of his crew. The man glances around furtively, like he just spilled a secret. Oh, of course not. Nor should you be. Carry on.

As soon as the man is out of earshot, your fellow dock worker leans close. What do you suppose that was all about? He acted like he was about to be arrested for speaking to us. Your guess is as good as mine. Did that name mean anything to you? Grenville? Nah, never heard of him. But you have heard of him. Because a few days ago, one of your old seafaring friends, a Spaniard, approached you at a pub and offered you a little silver for any information about Captain Grendel and his expedition to the New World.

Now, you intend to collect on that offer. As war brewed between England and Spain, Spanish spies learned that England was sending 600 men to colonize the coast of North America. But they didn't discover the expedition's final destination. The ships departed from the port of Plymouth on April 9, 1585, under the leadership of Raleigh's cousin, Richard Grenville. The fleet consisted of seven vessels, including a 160-ton flagship called the Tiger, which belonged to Queen Elizabeth. It carried Grenville and half of the roughly 600 men that made the journey, along with 13 cannons and several thousand pounds of gunpowder for protection against Spanish ships.

There were no women or children on board. But among those that were on the Tiger were the Algonquin leaders Manteo and Juanchis, and a new member of the team, an artist, scientist, and mapmaker named John White. White came from humble beginnings, but he had caught Walter Raleigh's attention as a worthy explorer in the 1570s. In that decade, he had sailed to North America with investors who were trying to find a passage to Asia. Though they didn't find one, White had made some incredibly detailed illustrations of the land and people they encountered on the voyage. His skillful artistry and level-headedness made him an invaluable resource to Raleigh and Queen Elizabeth. But on the way to the New World,

White, aboard Grenville's fleet, endured a particularly bad storm in the Atlantic, which damaged one ship and destroyed another. The remaining ships made a stop in Puerto Rico for repairs, but Grenville also took this opportunity to plunder unsuspecting Spanish ships that came into the harbor. He also raided the local residents' salt supplies, extremely valuable to seafarers. Grenville's actions may have been necessary to ensure his fleet could successfully complete its voyage, but they damaged his reputation with many of his most senior men, as well as with his Native American passengers, especially the already suspicious Juan Chis.

Then, in June, Grenville and his fleet finally arrived at the Outer Banks off the coast of modern-day North Carolina. During their journey, they had made a great profit at the expense of the Spanish, but their luck was about to run out. On the 29th of June, while trying to get past the barrier islands that separated Roanoke from the Atlantic, the Tiger ran aground on a sandbar. Its hull was breached as heavy surf pounded its sides. The Tiger held most of the fleet's supplies, in addition to all the Spanish goods they had stolen. Grenville and his crew needed to act quickly,

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Check out Exhibit C in the Wondery app for all your true crime listening. On June 29th, 1585, the Queen's ship Tiger ran aground, damaging its hull and threatening to sink the ship. The man responsible was the Tiger's pilot, a Portuguese sailor and former pirate named Simon Fernandes. Fernandes had been captured by the English in 1577, but he was spared from the hangman's noose by agents of Queen Elizabeth, who saw value in his navigational skills. He also went on to become a close friend of Sir Walter Raleigh, who hired him to take the colonists to the Chesapeake Bay. The English crew, though,

disliked Fernandez immediately, calling him the swine, and now they had reason to doubt his abilities as a sailor, too. But thanks to some quick action, he and the fleet's other pilots were able to drag the Tiger off the sandbar and onto dry land. Still, nearly all the explorer's perishable supplies were lost or rendered inedible by saltwater. They now had less than a month's worth of provisions to live on. And while carpenters set work repairing the ship, Grenville and about 60 men took off in four shallow-draft boats brought along by the Tiger. Among these men were the illustrator and mapmaker John White and the colony's governor, Ralph Lane.

Like Grenville, Lane was a former sheriff-turned-explorer, appointed by the Queen to act as governor once they reached Roanoke. Unlike Grenville, he didn't come from aristocracy or money. He joined Queen Elizabeth's household as a horsekeeper and worked his way up through a series of jobs until he was finally elected as a member of and worked his way up through a series of jobs until he was finally elected as a member of Parliament. Though he was an excellent administrator, he grew to hate pushing paper. So when the opportunity to sail to the New World arose, he jumped at it.

But Grenville and Lane clashed almost immediately. Both were aggressive and impetuous, traits that would lead to disaster for this first batch of would-be colonists. Over the next week, as crews repaired the Tiger, Grenville and Lane's party explored the sound adjacent to Roanoke and visited three Algonquin villages. The native people received them kindly and fed them heartily. As they explored, White mapped and charted everything he saw and made detailed color drawings of the people, plants, and animals they encountered. For the English, this was the New World. But of course, for the Algonquin leaders, Manteo and Juanchis, it was home. After nearly a year away, they were glad to be back.

The two Algonquin men had helped provide crucial information to the English about the New World, but they had also learned a lot during their months abroad. To them, England's towns were crowded and filthy, and its people seemed only to be focused on acquiring possessions and wealth. But despite his misgivings about their culture, Manteo worked to develop stronger ties with English, providing crucial knowledge about planting New World crops and hunting for local game. But Wanchese remained wary. Once he returned from England, he slipped away and went to live with his Roanokean, refusing to see the English again, even when Grenville tried to call upon him. Still, relationship between the English settlers and the Native Americans remained cordial. But then Grenville did something that struck terror into the hearts of his Algonquin hosts.

On July 16th, he discovered that a silver cup from his belongings was missing. He and his men decided it had been stolen during their time at a village they had visited three days before. The quick-tempered Grenville wasted no time and instructed some of the men to go back and demand the cup's return. Whether the cup was actually taken or simply lost is unclear, but when the villagers failed to produce it, Grenville grew furious. He ordered his men to burn down the entire village as well as its neighboring cornfields, dooming the villagers to starvation. Reports of Grenville's act of terror quickly spread throughout other villages along the coast. Still, the Roanoke

and Croatoan Indians continued to provide help to the settlers, though now it's likely they did so more out of fear than kindness. Not only were the English violent and unpredictable, but their weapons were unlike anything the indigenous people had ever seen, especially their muskets. They also brought new diseases, like influenza and smallpox, which spread quickly through every village they came in contact with. As a result, many of the native people believed that if they helped these English strangers, perhaps they could somehow mollify what they thought might be supernatural forces at play. But not all the indigenous leaders submitted to the English.

The chief of the Roanokes was a seasoned warrior named Wingina. Juan Chisa's stories about the English's selfishness and brutality angered and worried the chief, as did Grenville's proclivity for rage and destruction. But Wingina was a wily strategist, and he bided his time, waiting to see where the new arrivals would settle before making any next move. By July 21st, the Tiger was repaired and Grenville sailed back up the Outer Banks to Roanoke.

There he and Lane met Wengene's brother, since the chief himself was recuperating from a wound he received in battle with another tribe. They asked for permission to settle their men on the island of Roanoke, and Wengena's brother granted it, setting the stage for an inevitable clash when Wengena learned the untrustworthy English now occupied part of his territory. It's not clear why Grenville and Lane chose Roanoke as the site for their settlement. A hundred miles to the north, the Chesapeake Bay had better soil, deep rivers, and well-sheltered harbors. They may have decided upon the island because it was inaccessible to large Spanish ships, or they may have just miscalculated the location. But Roanoke it was, and the English settlers spent the summer building a small earthwork fort and a few houses. Then, because they lost so many

supplies when the Tiger ran aground, Grenville decided to take most of the men back to England. He left Lane in charge of a crew of about 110 men, and they continued to use Roanoke as a home base. But it was too late in the season to plant crops, and Lane had little interest in learning about Indian fishing and forging methods. And the settlers had enough provisions and gifts from Roanoke and Croatoan peoples that they were able to sail up and down the coast looking for pearls and gold. But the winter of 1585 into 1586 was tough on everybody in the Outer Banks.

The Roanoke were increasingly distressed at being forced to share their dwindling food supplies with the English. The region was in the middle of a long drought. Wengena's people and those of other villages were ravaged by flu and other European diseases. John White noted that every time he and other colonists left a village of a few hundred people, he later heard that between 20 and 60 people died within a week of their visit. So by midwinter, Chief Wingina decided he had had enough of the English. It was time to join forces with other native groups and sever ties with the English. Wingina began denying the colonists food and ordered his men to cut up the

fishnets the English had set. Soon the colonists found themselves on the verge of starvation. Then, in the spring of 1586, Wingina learned that Lane intended to embark on another voyage of exploration, taking rivers deeper into the mainland in search of new food sources and tribes to trade with. Wingina sent word ahead to two powerful inland tribes on Lane's route. Though these people were traditionally his rivals, Wingina warned them that Lane and his men intended to attack and kill any Indians they encountered. At the same time, Wingina told Lane that these tribes were conspiring to kill him and the rest of his colonists, and suggested that the English should

preemptively strike. Wingina hoped that by deliberately pitting the English against his rivals, both groups might wipe each other out. Wingina's plan failed. In April, Lane and his men returned to Roanoke unscathed by the other tribes, who had decided not to attack them. If Wingina wanted the English off his island, he would have to try a more direct approach, and began planning a nighttime attack on the English fort on Roanoke. The settlers he reasoned were weakened by famine, and had scattered their ranks up and down the Outer Banks in a constant search for shellfish and other food. They were vulnerable.

But Governor Lane learned of Wingina's plans and set a trap for the Roanoke chief. Imagine it's mid-afternoon on June 1, 1586. You're a young lieutenant in Governor Ralph Lane's colonial army. You and a detachment of 23 other soldiers have accompanied Lane here onto the mainland, not far from your base on Roanoke Island. There's a village nearby where Indian Chief Vengina is living with his people. Governor Lane has come here to deliver a message to the chief.

You're not sure what the message is. All you know is you're tired of dealing with these hostile natives. You grumble to a fellow soldier named Thomas as the two of you pull one of your boats ashore. I don't know if I can do these errands much longer. I'm so hungry. Well, we wouldn't be if these savages stopped cutting our fishing nets. What can Lane possibly want to say to that brute wingina? If you ask me, this is a waste of time. Well, maybe he doesn't want to say to that brute wing Gina? If you ask me,

this is a waste of time. Well, maybe he doesn't want to say anything. Maybe we're the message. 24 soldiers with swords and muskets? I don't think you need a translator for that. But both of you stop talking when you realize that two Indian guards have quietly appeared about 20 yards away at the edge of the woods. All of your fellow soldiers freeze, staring warily at the Indians. Out of the corner of your eye, you see a big Irish soldier named Nugent spit on the ground and put a hand on the pistol in his belt. Thomas turns to you and mutters under his breath, we can get this over with. Maybe they'll even give us some food, or we can take some. After a moment, the Indian guards move aside, and Wengena himself

appears between them. Lane approaches with a translator, and you hear them arguing in a mixture of English and Algonquian. Thomas leans over to you. Can you make out what they're saying? No, not a word. Suddenly, the crack of gunfire splits the air. You look to see where the sound came from and spot Nugent holding a smoking pistol. Then you realize that Chief Wingina has fallen and lies writhing on the ground. His guards scatter in terror. As Nugent loads again, Wingina manages to get up and run off into the woods, with Nugent and some other soldiers in pursuit. You turn to the soldiers nearest you, who are all watching the surprise attack in disbelief.

Ah, back to the boats. This is foolishness. It's going to bring a thousand savages down on us. Then Thomas points up the shoreline. Ah, Nugent. Nugent's back. What's he holding? Oh, God. Nugent proudly walks up to Governor Lane and presents him with a gruesome trophy. Chief Wingina's severed head. You let out a grim sigh. Nothing good will come of this. If I were them, I'd stop at nothing to kill us now. Suddenly, Lane's strategy becomes clear to you. He never intended for this to be a peaceful meeting. His plan all along was to

trick Wingina into coming out into the open so he could kill him on the spot. You just hope the governor has a plan to keep you safe at the fort. You have little ammunition left and even less food. And with this latest act of aggression, Lane may have just sealed the settlement's fate. After Ralph Lane's men killed Wingina and wounded several of his warriors, the colonists knew they could not stay in the New World. They were already almost out of food, and with little ammunition, their defenses were weak. A week after Wingina's killing, the desperate settlers spotted a fleet of 23 ships off the coast. It turned out to be the fleet of Sir Francis Drake, the famous English explorer and privateer. He was fresh from sacking St. Augustine, Florida, and some other Spanish outposts to the south. Low on supplies and

surrounded by now very hostile tribes, Lane and his troops decided to abandon Roanoke and return to England with Drake. Had they waited just two weeks, they would have seen Richard Grenville return from England with three supply ships. But Grenville found the fort abandoned and had no idea why. Not knowing that relations with the indigenous people had turned hostile, Grenville left a detachment of just 15 men to guard the fort and hold this new outpost for the queen. These 15 men could not possibly know what to expect in this strange new place. They were unaware that they had arrived in a time of extreme drought and famine, or so soon after the death of a beloved tribal chief at the hands

of English soldiers. Grenville left the men with enough supplies to last two years, and the fort built by Lane's settlers was still standing. But alone and isolated on the edge of the New World, with no means of escape and no way of communicating with their home country, it would take a miracle for them to survive. For more than two centuries, the White House has been the stage for some of the most dramatic scenes in American history. Inspired by the hit podcast American History Tellers, Wondery and William Morrow present the new book, The Hidden History of the White House. Each chapter will bring you inside the fierce power struggles, the world-altering decisions, and shocking scandals that have

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Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. After Captain Richard Grenville left Roanoke, he returned to England, pirating several Spanish ships along the way, which he knew would please Queen Elizabeth. His men stole everything from the ships they plundered, even the door hinges. They made it home about a month after Sir Francis Drake, who also did some privateering as he brought Governor Ralph Lane and his 110 men back from their abandoned outpost on Roanoke. The 15 men left behind by Grenville did not fare as well. Later, the Croatoan people gave John White an account of what happened. After Grenville left,

warriors from the mainland burned down the fort and drove all the surviving soldiers out to sea in a small boat. These native warriors included some from the village that Grenville had burned down over the loss of his precious silver cup. According to the story told to White, the boat full of English soldiers was last seen sailing east. No one saw the soldiers again. Unaware of all of this, back in England, Sir Walter Raleigh was already organizing yet another expedition to the Chesapeake region, under direct orders from Queen Elizabeth. Despite Grenville and Lane's failure to establish a permanent settlement or form peaceful relations with the Native Americans, the Queen was still determined to have a presence in the New World, whatever the cost. She saw it as essential in England's ongoing conflict with Spain, which already had several New World colonies. And

tensions between Protestant England and Catholic Spain were rising still. And just a few months after Grenville returned home, Queen Elizabeth took an action that brought those tensions to a boiling point. On February 8, 1587, Queen Elizabeth executed her Catholic cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots. Many in both England and Spain had viewed Mary as the rightful heir to the English throne. Elizabeth knew that Mary's execution might provoke King Philip of Spain to invade England, but it was a risk she was willing to take to keep Mary off her throne. Then, on April 29th, Sir Francis Drake led a fleet that attacked an important harbor in Spain and burned 33 ships. The Spanish King Philip was enraged by Drake's daring feat and began plotting his revenge,

constructing an armada that would attack England the following year. England and Spain were at war. While the Spanish king prepared his armada, Elizabeth decided she must quickly finance a permanent colony in the Americas. The maps and detailed drawings of the New World provided by John White brought more private investors on board as well. Soon Raleigh had all the money and resources he needed to bankroll yet another voyage. But this trip would be different. Rather than a military expedition, it would consist of men, women, and children recruited for their desire to create a better life for themselves and build a permanent town in the land called Virginia, the beginnings of a colony in the name of Her Majesty the Queen.

Imagine it's the evening of March 10th, 1587. It's freezing outside, but you're taking just the last few steps to the front entrance of your comfortable but modest London home. You can see your wife through the rippled glass, putting food on the table. It briefly crosses your mind that in the New World, you might not have the luxury of glass windows. Your wife greets you as you tromp inside, rubbing your hands together for warmth. Oh, you look frozen, dear. Take your coat off. Sit by the fire. I'll bring your food there. Oh, thank you. But first, sit down with me. I want to talk to you about something.

Oh, all right. I had a visit from Sir Raleigh's friend again today. He made a compelling argument. So tomorrow, I'm going to tell him we're ready to buy passage to the land of Virginia and the New World. No. No, you said... No, don't speak back to me. This is for the best. We have no children, and I have five brothers. You married me knowing it would be my hard work and not any inheritance that helped us. You cannot be serious. What about the savages there? I've heard stories about their brutality. They'll kill us on sight, even if we make it across the ocean.

It's no use. I've already decided. I missed our opportunity in Ireland, and there is no Pope or Spanish fleet in the Americas. But look, John White will lead the new colony. He's a good man, and he is no Pope or Spanish fleet in the Americas. But look, John White will lead the new colony. He's a good man, and he's been there before. He knows the land and the natives. He's bringing his own daughter and her husband. She's with child, so how dangerous could it be? And what of our parents? Who's going to look after them when we're gone? We'll send money back. They say there are pearls and gold. God has given us this opportunity to have more. And who knows, perhaps I can even become a lord and you can be my lady. Well, that would be

grand. All right. So it's settled. Next month, we sail to the new world. You think about the spacious new home you might have at this time next year. You can hardly wait to taste all the fruits and vegetables you've heard about, eat roasted pig every week instead of just at Christmas. But most of all, you can't wait to make a fresh start. Maybe someday, to have someone call you sir. Little is known about the 117 people who made a treacherous journey seeking a better life in the New World. Most were working or middle-class tradespeople who could afford to pay for their passage but still wanted more, a chance to start over. Many probably believed they were journeying

to a kind of Eden, an unspoiled virgin wilderness where they could build a model English town, free from the overcrowding of London. Initially, the plan was not for them to return to Roanoke. During the short time they had been there, the English had burned a village, brought deadly disease, depleted food stores, and killed a popular tribal chief. Though they still maintained a friendship with Manteo of the Croton people, many of the Queen's advisors thought it would be best to put the colony elsewhere. The spot they chose was farther up the coast at Chesapeake Bay. Here, the colonists could build a deepwater port, more easily accessible for the heavy ships needed to cross the Atlantic. One scientific advisor mistakenly believed that the Chesapeake might also lead to

a passage to the Pacific coast, which they thought lay just beyond the explored areas of the Virginia territory. With the colony on the Chesapeake, the Queen believed world domination was within her grasp. And while the previous voyages had been military and reconnaissance operations, meant to establish trade outposts and better understand what the region had to offer, this latest voyage would be the first one meant to last. Sir Walter Raleigh put John White in charge of this pivotal venture. He liked that White was not a military man and got on well with Algonquin tribes. Raleigh also thought him a fair and just leader for a group that was meant to build a civilized society.

On May 8, 1587, the colonists departed on the ship Lion for the New World. Eighty-nine men, seventeen women, and eleven children sailed from Plymouth to claim five hundred acres of land per family, granted to them by the Crown. They could not possibly foresee all that this harsh New World had in store for them. They would meet strange new people, with clothing and customs much different from their own. They would have to find new sources of water and plant crops they've never seen or even tasted before. They would have to construct their own homes and fortify them against an unfamiliar climate and unknown threats. And all of these concerns depended on whether they could even

make it across the ocean at all. But John White had proven himself to be a capable leader. No Englishman knew more about the place where they would make their new lives. These colonists would place all their faith in him and in God to see them through this unknowable challenge. But once they landed, not even White was prepared for what lay ahead, a life of unimaginable hardship, the constant threat of disease, attack, and death. On the next episode of American History Tellers, an ambitious ship captain abandons the English colonists on Roanoke Island, setting in motion a desperate hunt for survival.

Their leader, John White, faces an impossible choice. Leave the colony and his family to seek help from England, or stay to face hunger and death in the New World. From Wondery, this is episode one of The Lost Colony of Roanoke for American History Tellers. American History Tellers is hosted, edited, and produced by me, Lindsey Graham, for Airship. Audio editing by Molly Bach.

Sound design by Derek Behrens. Music by Lindsey Graham. This episode is written by Julia Bricklin, edited by Dorian Marina. Our senior producer is Andy Herman. Our executive producers are Jenny Lauer-Beckman and Marsha Louis for Wondery. If you like American History Tellers, you can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.

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