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The colonization of the Roanoke Colony was originally organized by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, but he died when attempting to colonize St. John's Newfoundland, leaving his half-brother Sir Walter Raleigh to continue.
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Sir Walter Raleigh never visited North America but send expeditions led by other men in his place.
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The purpose of establishing a colony on Roanoke Island was to create a foothold in the New World to be able to serve as a base to expand the British Empire.
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The first group sent to establish a colony arrived at Roanoke Island in1585, led by Sir Richard Greenville, almost a year after the initial expedition arrived on Roanoke to find a place to settle a colony. This expedition left 107 settlers on Roanoke Island to establish a colony while Greenville returned to England for more supplies.
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When the supplies did not return as planned on schedule the colonists left with Sir Francis Drake, an English explorer who offered to return them to England.
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When Greenville arrived back on Roanoke Island it was abandoned. Again Greenville left some men on the island and returned to England.
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In 1587 another attempt was made to start a colony on Roanoke Island with 115 colonists led by John White. Upon arrival all they found left of Greenville's men was a human skeleton.
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After struggling to build a settlement and fighting with the local Natives, John White returned to England for more supplies.
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White had a difficult time returning to Roanoke, and it took three years for him to finally reach the island. John White's granddaughter had been born on Roanoke Island and had remained there when he returned to England.
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When John White arrived on Roanoke Island in 1590 the buildings had been dismantled and there was no sign of the colonists.
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The word 'Croatoan' had been carved into a post and the letters 'Cro' had been carved into a tree, leading John White to assume they had moved to Croatoan Island. With a storm approaching he was forced to return to England and never knew what happened to the missing colonists.
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Some theories suggest that the colonists on Roanoke Island had become members of the nearby Native Indian tribes.
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The first child born of English parents in the Americas was Virginia Dare, the granddaughter of John White.
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Many books have been written about Roanoke Island, with different theories about the fate of the colonists.
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