Lost Colony of Roanoke | The Vanishing | 2

American History Tellers

Wondery

History, Education For Kids, Kids & Family, Society & Culture

4.7 • 18.3K Ratings

🗓️ 7 July 2021

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On April 26, 1587, 117 colonists sailed from England to establish a permanent settlement on the east coast of North America. After a long voyage fraught with storms and spoiled food, they landed on the island of Roanoke, in the Outer Banks region of what is now North Carolina.

Under the leadership of John White, the settlers built a fort and homes, but faced hunger and harsh conditions. At the end of the summer, White was forced to leave his family and his newborn granddaughter, Virginia, to sail back to England for more supplies. While he was there, war broke out between England and Spain, and he could not return for three long years. When he finally did, he found Roanoke completely deserted, with only a few puzzling clues left that have haunted historians ever since.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Prime Members, you can listen to American History Tellers add free on Amazon Music,
0:05.6	download the app today.
0:09.6	Imagine a July 28th, 1587.
0:20.6	You're a widower from London and an assistant to Governor John White, the leader of your
0:25.9	small colony in the New World.
0:28.2	It's only been a few days since you and your young son landed here on the island of
0:31.7	Ronaup with all the other colonists, but already you're having to forage for food.
0:37.2	After two and a half months at sea, your supplies are nearly exhausted.
0:42.2	You trudge along the shoreline carrying two wooden pales which you hope to fill with shellfish.
0:47.4	It's just a few hours after dawn, but already blazingly hot on this narrow strip of beach.
0:52.8	You hail another settler, who stands knee deep in the gentle surf fishing for mackerel.
0:57.5	Hey, any luck?
0:59.5	No.
1:00.5	It's still a little early, but I'd really like to catch something soon so I can help with
1:04.2	building the fort.
1:05.2	White instructed me to get some crabs.
1:07.9	Apparently you just dig in these shoals down to the end of the beach, but it's all new
1:11.0	to me.
1:12.0	I hope we don't let everyone down.
1:13.9	Well, good luck to you, because if we don't catch enough seafood today, we'll be eating
1:17.6	snails tomorrow.
1:19.4	You continue down the beach another mile or two, until you get to a marshy inlet.
	...

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