When England’s Queen Elizabeth I saw Spain plundering vast amounts of gold from South America, envy took hold. “How dare a defeated rival hoard such wealth?” she fumed. Thus, England resolved to seize its share of the Americas.
Elizabeth ordered Sir Walter Raleigh to lead the venture. In April 1584, Raleigh dispatched Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe with two ships to North America. On July 4, they landed on Roanoke Island (now part of North Carolina’s Outer Banks), declared it an English colony, and named it “Virginia”—outwardly meaning “Virgin Land,” but truly a flattering nod to the “Virgin Queen,” Elizabeth.
Upon arrival, the English gentry were stunned: no food, no farming skills. To survive, they befriended local Native Americans. Unlike modern Americans’ crafty reputation, these indigenous people were generous, sharing corn and teaching the settlers to farm. Relations remained peaceful. Once settled, Barlowe returned to England with two Native Americans to report.
Fearing criticism, Barlowe spun tales of Virginia’s “endless gold” and “fertile soil.” Raleigh, eyes gleaming, sent his cousin Richard Grenville with five ships and over a hundred men to haul back the treasure. Predictably, they brought tools but no seeds. With hundreds of mouths to feed, farming seemed slow—so they turned to raiding.
Roanoke’s terrain was unfamiliar. Though better armed, the English were crushed by the Natives. On the brink of collapse, famed English pirate-navigator Sir Francis Drake—fresh from looting Spanish ships in the Caribbean—rescued them. First colony: failed.
Undeterred, England launched a second attempt. In 1587, John White led 116 colonists back to Roanoke, aiming to relocate to Chesapeake Bay. But the crew refused to sail farther. Why? Roanoke Island lay along Spanish trade routes—they planned to plunder passing ships. “Fortune favors the bold,” as the English knew well.
White, now a figurehead leader, reluctantly agreed. “Take shelter in Fort Raleigh,” he said (a crude structure left by the 1585 colonists), “while I return for reinforcements.”
Back in England, White found the nation at war with Spain. Philip II, enraged by Drake’s state-sanctioned piracy, sent the 130-ship “Spanish Armada” in 1588 to invade England, vowing to “capture the foolish sweet queen.” Elizabeth staked everything—even conscripting civilian ships—to defend her crown. White was stranded: no ships to return.
When he finally reached Roanoke in 1590, he expected to bury bones. Instead, he found an eerie mystery: the settlement was empty. Only a fence-post carving remained—”CROATOAN” (a local tribe’s name) and “CRO.” No bodies, no battle traces. Gone without a trace.
With England’s first two colonial attempts failed, King James I reportedly had Raleigh executed. Yet the dream lived on. Soon, a shrewd merchant named John Smith crossed the ocean, landing on Virginia’s shores to establish Jamestown—England’s first enduring foothold in America.