What happened to the people of Roanoke?

The word associated with Roanoke a lot is Croatoan.  This word refers to a small native american group in the area of present day North Carolina.  Today groups are still searching for answers as to what happened to these colonists.  In schools they teach children about this colony and have even made frightening stories out of the plot.  In today's modern society there is even a Facebook group called DNA of the Lost Settlers. 

There are many different theories as to what might have happened to these colonists.  Here are a few: 

1. They migrated to Site X: The area found on John White's map where colonists tried to resettle, 60 miles west of Roanoke.  Researchers question if the colonists tried to move there themselves during the three year period John White went back to England.  

 

2. Researchers also proposed that the colonists might have moved from Roanoke because the island wasn't a good place to build a settlement with limited fresh water resources. Archeologists say that the three year time span when John White went back to England this was the worst possible time to start a colony because during the this time period, the worst drought in eight hundred years took place.

3. The colonists may have moved in search of protection or a steady food supply from the Croatoan tribe. Since there was very little supplies and food, the possibility of the colonists being attacked by tribes or pirates is still a possibility.


Research continues, but the mystery is still unknown.  People are still trying to find the cause of the colonists abandoning Roanoke island.