Project Background
In 1587, Sir Walter Raleigh sent out over 117 men, women, and children to establish the City of Raleigh on Roanoke Island in present day North Carolina as the first English colony in the New World. The vessel sailed to England three weeks later with the colony's Governor, John White, to obtain desperately needed supplies, but it was unable to return until 1590. When the supply ship finally returned, the colony was gone, apparently not destroyed, but removed. The only clue was the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree.
John White, whose daughter, son-in-law, and grandchild Virginia Dare, were among the colonists, believed this message meant they had gone to Croatoan Island where their friend Manteo was Chief of the Indians. Some historians say they perished, but clues and rumors persisted for decades that they did not, that they were either captured by or assimilated into the native population. The Lost Colony of Roanoke DNA Project seeks to discover whether the colonists perished or survived as part of the indigenous culture.
Read more about this topic: Lost Colony DNA Project
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