Sir Walter Raleigh sent 150 people to start a colony in 1587.
A man named John White was in charge of the colony.
John White was an artist and a friend of Raleigh.
He had gone to Roanoke with Barlowe and Grenville.
Raleigh told them to start a colony on the Chesapeake Bay.
On the way, they were going to stop at the Roanoke fort to pick up Grenville's men and take them to the new colony.

White's ships landed at Roanoke on 22 July 1587.
They did not find any of Grenville's men at the base of the old fort.
All they found was one skeleton that might have been the body of one of the Englishmen.
The commander of the fleet (group of ships), Simon Fernandez, would not let the colonists get back on the ships.
He said they had to start the new colony on Roanoke Island.
Nobody knows exactly why he did this.

White tried to talk to the Croatans and make peace with them.
The Croatans were the same tribes that Ralph Lane and his men had fought against the year before.
The Croatans would not talk to White.
They killed a colonist named George Howe.
Howe was looking for crabs in the Albemarle Sound when he was killed.

The colonists were scared.
They asked Governor White to go back to England and get help.
White agreed to go.
He left behind 115 colonists at Roanoke.
114 colonists had come from England with White.
The last colonist was Virginia Dare.
Virginia was the first English child ever born in the Americas.
She was also John White's granddaughter.

Governor White left the colony in late 1587.
The ship barely made it back to England.
It was very dangerous to cross the Atlantic Ocean in the winter.
There were bad storms and lots of heavy wind.
White wanted to return to Roanoke fast with help.
The captain said he would not go back during the winter because it was too dangerous.
At the same time, the Spanish Armada was sailing to attack England.
All English ships were sent to fight the Spanish, so there were no ships for White to sail back to Roanoke.

White found two small ships that were not being used to defend England against the Spanish Armada.
He hired the ships to sail to Roanoke.
They set sail in the spring of 1588.
The captains of the ships were greedy.
They tried to attack some Spanish ships to steal their cargo. (
Cargo is things being carried by a ship.
Cargo can be food, supplies, money, or treasure.)
The Spanish ships fought White's ships and won.
The Spanish took all of White's cargo.
White's ships turned around and sailed back to England because they had nothing to take to the colony.
Sir Walter Raleigh sent 150 people to start a colony in 1587. A man named John White was in charge of the colony. John White was an artist and a friend of Raleigh. He had gone to Roanoke with Barlowe and Grenville. Raleigh told them to start a colony on the Chesapeake Bay. On the way, they were going to stop at the Roanoke fort to pick up Grenville's men and take them to the new colony. 
White's ships landed at Roanoke on 22 July 1587. They did not find any of Grenville's men at the base of the old fort. All they found was one skeleton that might have been the body of one of the Englishmen. The commander of the fleet (group of ships), Simon Fernandez, would not let the colonists get back on the ships. He said they had to start the new colony on Roanoke Island. Nobody knows exactly why he did this.
White tried to talk to the Croatans and make peace with them. The Croatans were the same tribes that Ralph Lane and his men had fought against the year before. The Croatans would not talk to White. They killed a colonist named George Howe. Howe was looking for crabs in the Albemarle Sound when he was killed.
The colonists were scared. They asked Governor White to go back to England and get help. White agreed to go. He left behind 115 colonists at Roanoke. 114 colonists had come from England with White. The last colonist was Virginia Dare. Virginia was the first English child ever born in the Americas. She was also John White's granddaughter.
Governor White left the colony in late 1587. The ship barely made it back to England. It was very dangerous to cross the Atlantic Ocean in the winter. There were bad storms and lots of heavy wind. White wanted to return to Roanoke fast with help. The captain said he would not go back during the winter because it was too dangerous. At the same time, the Spanish Armada was sailing to attack England. All English ships were sent to fight the Spanish, so there were no ships for White to sail back to Roanoke.
White found two small ships that were not being used to defend England against the Spanish Armada. He hired the ships to sail to Roanoke. They set sail in the spring of 1588. The captains of the ships were greedy. They tried to attack some Spanish ships to steal their cargo. (Cargo is things being carried by a ship. Cargo can be food, supplies, money, or treasure.) The Spanish ships fought White's ships and won. The Spanish took all of White's cargo. White's ships turned around and sailed back to England because they had nothing to take to the colony.
Roanoke Colony