The settlers arrived too late in the year to harvest successful crops. John White, the leader at that time, decided to go back to England to get some supplies. While he was gone, the first English baby in the New World was born on August 18,1587. Virginia Dare was born of Ananias Dare and Eleanor White and had 0what may have been the first christening in America.
When White arrived in England, Queen Elizabeth would not allow ships to return to the New World because of a war between England and Spain. It took three whole years before White was able to go back to Roanoke.
By the time John White returned to Roanoke in 1590, the village was deserted. No one knows for certain what exactly happened to Roanoke. Some believe they were attacked by Indians, while others think that the colonists died because of lack of supplies. The only thing we know for a fact is that the letters C R O A T O A N were carved in a pole. The world may never know what happened to those first settlers.
