History's Greatest Mysteries: The Lost Colony of Roanoke

By: Charles River Editors

Narrated by: Kadee Coppinger

Length: 1 hr and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

"The first Discovery and Settlement of this Country was by the Procurement of Sir Walter Raleigh, in Conjunction with some publick-spirited Gentlemen of that Age, under the Protection of Queen Elizabeth; for which Reason it was then named Virginia, being begun on that Part called Ronoak-Island, where the Ruins of a Fort are to be seen at this day, as well as some old English Coins which have been lately found; and a Brass-Gun, a Powder-Horn, and one small Quarter deck-Gun, made of Iron Staves, and hoop'd with the same Metal; which Method of making Guns might very probably be made use of in those Days, for the Convenience of Infant-Colonies." - John Lawson

Nearly 20 years before Jamestown was settled, the English established one of the earliest colonies in North America around the Chesapeake Bay region, until the colony had over 100 inhabitants. Like other early settlements, Roanoke struggled to survive in its infancy, to the extent that the colony's leader, John White, sailed back to England in 1587 in an effort to bring more supplies and help. However, the attempts to bring back supplies were thwarted by the Spanish in the midst of the Anglo-Spanish War going on at the time, and it was not until 1590 that White reached Roanoke again.

What White found when he came back to Roanoke led to one of the most enduring mysteries in American history. Despite the fact he had left over 100 people in Roanoke in 1587, White returned to literally nothing, with all traces of the settlement gone and no evidence of fighting or anything else that might have explained the disappearance of the inhabitants.

©2012 Charles River Editors (P)2015 Charles River Editors

Omits Crucial Information

While the author provides an overview of events leading up to the disappearance of Raleigh's third expedition and second attempt to colonize the New World, crucial information connecting the dots is omitted. Examples include the fact that Spain was overtaking Europe at that time and England, likewise threatened, allowed Drake and others to engage in privateering in an effort to cut off the flow of gold from South America that funded Spain's tyrannical invasions. Also left out was the fact that White's colony was initially headed to Chesapeake, not Roanoke, but was abandoned there by their boat pilot.

The more one learns of this story, the more one learns there is much more to the events that led up to the colony's disappearance.

Misleading title

Very interesting, but the title of this thesis is misleading. As a study of the events preceding the founding of the colony, it does quite well. The documentation provided demonstrates decent research, but there is little discourse on the human aspects of establishing the fort and vague on the perceived support by the locals. I was disappointed.
The narrator was adequate.

Good basic story.

A good basic story. I was happy that the Dare Stones were immediately labeled as hoaxes. Perhaps too much credibility was afforded the Lumbee claim. Overall the story was nicely told. The multiple mispronunciations of names and locations was distracting.

Not my Favorite

Voice sounded AI. High pitch girl voice. Basic information. Super short. I expected a book for one credit. Not a summary.