Roanoke Island
Roanoke Island was the site of the Roanoke Colony, an English settlement initially established in 1585 by Sir Walter Raleigh. A group of about 120 men, women and children arrived in 1587. Shortly after arriving in this New World, colonist Eleanor Dare, daughter of Governor John White, gave birth to Virginia Dare. She was the first English child born in North America. Governor White returned to England later that year for supplies. Due to impending war with Spain, White was unable to return to Roanoke Island until 1590. When he arrived, the colony had vanished. The fate of those first colonists remains a mystery to this day and is one of America's most intriguing unsolved mysteries. Archaeologists, historians, and other researchers continue to work to resolve the mystery. Visitors to the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site can watch "The Lost Colony", the second-longest-running outdoor theatre production in the United States, which presents a conjecture of the fate of Roanoke Colony.
Roanoke Island
Manteo and Wanchese had different reactions to the English, Manteo took great interest in Western Civilization. Manteo learned the English language and helped Harriot create a phonetic transcription for the Croatoan language, the Croatoan transcription was later destroyed in the Great Fire of London 1666. By contrast, Wanchese came to see the English as his captors; upon returning home in 1585 he incited his people to resist colonization at all costs. Despite the "Lost Colony" story line there is no documentation that Wanchese became a leader of his people. The legacy of the two Indians and their distinct roles of collaborators and antagonists to the English inspired the names of Roanoke's towns.