Hello, I'm Professor Susanna Lipscomb, and welcome to Not Just the Tudors from History Hit,

the podcast in which we explore everything from Anne Boleyn to the Aztecs, from Holbein to the Huguenose,

from Shakespeare to Samarise, relieved by regular doses of murder, espionage and witchcraft.

Not in other words, just the Tudors, but most definitely also the Tudors.

There's something irres about a mystery that refuses to be solved.

And few are as haunting or as enduring as the lost colony of Roanoke, one of the great enigmas of early American history.

In the late 16th century, when England was eager to rival Spain on the world stage,

Walter Rawley, a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, set his sights on the new world.

His dream was to establish a permanent English colony across the Atlantic,

part empire building, part exploration, and part sheer adventure.

Rawley's vision led to the small settlement on Roanoke Island, off the coast of what is now North Carolina.

It was meant to be the beginning of England's colonial future.

But when the colony's governor, John White, returned in 1590 after a three-year absence, he found it deserted.

There were only two clues to the fate of more than 100 men, women and children.

A single word carved into a wooden post, Croaton, and three letters carved on the palisade, CRO. For more than four centuries, people have speculated about what became of the colony.

Did the people seek refuge with the local Native Americans?

Were they lost at sea or absorbed into nearby communities?

Archaeology and historical detective work have given us tantalizing fragments of evidence,

but never a final answer.

And perhaps that's part of the magic.

Roanoke remains a story where history and legend meet.

This episode comes thanks to one of our listeners,

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