ABANDONMENT AT ROANOKE

Karen Ordahl Kupperman’s Roanoke: The Abandoned Colony relates the events
surrounding the attempt to colonize the Americas by English settlers, particularly focusing on the
first expeditions to the island of Roanoke. In this particular reading, Kupperman addresses the
attempt to establish a genuine colony at Roanoke Island following two initial campaigns. The
latter expedition was led by John White, a painter who had been part of the second expedition,
and upon whom the role of persuading people to join the expedition fell upon. White came on the
trip as the Governor, and it is from his reports that a picture of the expedition can be gleaned
(Kupperman, 1984). Kupperman establishes the conflict that presented when the seafaring crew
of the ship, led by their pilot Simon Fernandez, wanted to engage in privateering like in the
previous trips despite the presence of women and children in this latter trip. Also, the author
recounts how their investigations and interactions with the Indians once on the island made them
aware of what had transpired to the previous settlement on Roanoke, the Lane Colony.
Kupperman points out that John White had to go back to England for supplies. The delays
occasioned by an imminent attack of the Spanish Armada made it impossible for White to get
back on time. The author’s main contention is that the blockade by the Spanish fleet prevented
White’s return in time, and as such, we can only formulate theories as to the disappearance of the
colony he had left behind. Additional information about the attempt at establishing a colony is
drawn from Thomas Harriot’s Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia.

ABANDONMENT AT ROANAKE 3

References

Kupperman, K. (1984). Roanoke, the abandoned colony. Totowa, N.J.: Rowman & Allanheld.