Roanoke was the first English settlement in America. This island was explored by English navigators Phillip Armadas and Arthur Barlowe in 1584. These two explorers were subsidized by Sir Walter Raleigh. Armadas and Bartlowe discovered Roanoke Island between Albemarie Sound and Pamlico Sound, off the coast of North Carolina. The explorers found this island suitable for a colony.

Sir Raleigh then obtained a grant from Queen Elizabeth I and sent out a colonizing expedition under Sir Richard Grenville and Sir Ralph Lane. The expedition landed at Roanoke in August 1585, and set a fort at the north end of the island. Here they encountered unfriendly Native Americans and, because of food shortages, were forced to abandon the colony. They returned to England with Sir Francis Drake.

Raleigh was able to organize a second expedition in 1587. The sole purpose of this expedition was to establish a permanent colony in the Americas...