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WonderHistory fact

In 1590 English ships returned to the Roanoke colony, off present-day North Carolina, and found it deserted: houses taken down, no bodies, no sign of a fight. Carved into a post was a single word: CROATOAN.

Roanoke Island, 1590

History

The story behind the card

About 115 English settlers had landed in 1587, led by Governor John White; his granddaughter Virginia Dare was the first English child born in the Americas. White sailed home for supplies, but England's war with Spain, the years of the Spanish Armada, kept him away for three years. He had agreed with the settlers that if they moved they would carve their destination, adding a cross if they left in danger. There was no cross. Croatoan was a nearby island, part of today's Hatteras Island, and the name of a friendly people, which suggests the settlers moved there and joined local communities. Storms forced White back to England before he could check, and no confirmed trace of the colonists has been found.

Türkçe oku
1590'da İngiliz gemileri, bugünkü Kuzey Carolina kıyısındaki Roanoke kolonisine döndüğünde yerleşimi bomboş buldu: Evler sökülmüştü, ne ceset vardı ne de çatışma izi. Bir direğe tek bir sözcük kazınmıştı: CROATOAN.
Roanoke Adası, 1590

1587'de Vali John White önderliğinde yaklaşık 115 İngiliz yerleşimci adaya çıkmıştı; White'ın torunu Virginia Dare, Amerika kıtasında doğan ilk İngiliz çocuktu. White erzak getirmek için İngiltere'ye döndü, ama İspanyol Armadası yıllarında İspanya'yla süren savaş onu üç yıl geciktirdi. Yerleşimcilerle, bir yere taşınırlarsa gittikleri yerin adını oymaları, tehlike altında ayrılırlarsa yanına bir haç eklemeleri konusunda anlaşmıştı. Haç yoktu. Croatoan, bugünkü Hatteras Adası'nın bir parçası olan yakındaki bir adanın ve orada yaşayan dost bir halkın adıydı. Bu da yerleşimcilerin oraya taşınıp yerli topluluklara karıştığını düşündürüyor. White oraya gidemeden fırtınalar onu İngiltere'ye dönmeye zorladı; yerleşimcilerden bugüne dek doğrulanmış hiçbir iz bulunamadı.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Roanoke Colony
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