Attempted Colonisation of Virginia

1. 1584 - Raleigh plans colonisation of North America and sends a team to explore Virginia and report back
2. 1585 - Colonisation begins - 107 men set out for Roanoke
3. 1586 - Surviving colonists abandon colony, struggling to feed themselves and facing hostility - they go back to England
4. 1587 - New English colonists return and set up a colony
5. 1590 - Raleigh goes to check on colony and it was abandoned and colonists mysteriously disappeared

\
Raleigh:

• Noblemen and courtier - became an explorer during Elizabeth’s reign
• 1584 - Elizabeth gave him a grant to explore and settle lands in North America
• Needed to raise huge amounts of money and encourage potential colonists to leave home
• Did not lead the colonists, but he was significant because he raised funds and persuaded people to go

\
Virginia was colonised because:

• Trade
• England would be less dependent on other countries for imported goods
• Welcoming natives
• Raleigh persuaded investors that the trip would be profitable
• Provide a base to attack Spanish settlements and colonies
• Make it easy to fund other ventures

\
Why did the attempt fail:

• Lack of cooperation
  • Many had come in search of getting rich quickly and were not prepared to put the work in
  • Some were not cut out for the difficult life
  • People thought they could use the natives for labour but found controlling them hard
  • Farmers had gone to farm their own land and not work for upper-class colonists
• Inexperience
  • Too many craftsmen but not enough farmers
  • Soldiers could defend but were ill-disciplined
  • Colonists had to rely on natives for survival
  • Gunpowder was spoilt so hunters found it hard to shoot
• Voyage and food
  • One of the ships got damaged and supplies got ruined
  • Relied on the natives for food
  • Arrived too late to plant crops
  • Temperature was hot and their food rotted quickly
• Native American resistance
  • Natives got angry with the diseases the English brought
  • English constantly demanded for food during the hard winter
  • Violent fights between them
  • Chiefs were attacked

\
The colony served as a template for future settlements.

\
\
\