From Settlement to Superpower

In this episode, we discuss the final expedition of John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake (1595 - 1596). Both Drake and the Indies had changed over the last decade, and it showed on this melancholy voyage.

In this episode, we begin to wrap up our coverage of the great Elizabethans and their activities in the Americas. In this episode, we cover the Battle of Flores (1591) and the Siege of Crozon (1594).

So, what actually happened to the Roanoke colonists? In this episode, we explore several hypotheses. We talk about the reports of gray or blue-eyed Indians in the Carolinas, Tuscarora oral tradition, and a possible massacre by the Powhatan Confederacy. In the second half of the episode, we explore the intriguing saga of the Dare Stones.

White did not have an easy time getting relief for his colonists. Ignored by Walter Raleigh and betrayed by such unscrupuluos pirates as Arthur Facy, White failed to get out of England before the crisis of the Spanish Armada trapped him in. By the time White actually got out in 1590, accompanied by Abraham Cocke and Edward Spicer, it was already too late.

In this episode, we discuss Raleigh's second attempt at colonizing Virginia, this time under the command of John White. Although Raleigh, Grenville, and White had their own idea of where the colony was to be planted, Simon Fernandes decided to do things his way, and in doing so he seriuosly compromised the new colony. We discuss the early days of the Second Roanoke Colony, their relations with the Indians, and White's return to ENgland. Next episode will cover John White's unsuccessful attempts to obtain relief for his colonists.

We're back, after a month's hiatus, and in this episode we discuss Sir Walter Raleigh's first colony at Roanoke Island. Commanded by Governor Ralph Lane, the colonists soon managed to make enemies of the local Roanoc Indians. Warned of a planned Indian surprise attack by Manteo, Lane succeeded in killing Wingina in a surprise attack on the village of Dasemunkepeuc. However, the colonists were still beset by danger when Sir Francis Drake sailed up to Roanoke Island and offered to bring them back to England. Thus failed the first Roanoke Colony, but from its ashes a second, more tragic colony would emerge: the second Roanoke colony, The Lost Colony.

In this episode we discuss the two pre-emptive expeditions which Elizabeth sent to the new world in 1585. The first is Bernard Drake's destruction of the Spanish and Portuguese fishing fleets in Newfoundland, and the second is Sir Francis Drake's sacking of Santiago, Santo Domingo, Cartagena, and St Augustine. On his return home, Drake visited Roanoke Island. Apparently, the settlement had not prospered...

Following Amadas and Barlowe's return from North Carolina's Outer Banks, Raleigh sent over a fleet and about 100 colonists. The colony was to be governed by Ralph Lane, while the fleet which conveyed them was placed under the command of Richard Grenville, Raleigh's cousin. As it turned out, Grenville had an unfortunate habit of setting things on fire when he felt slighted, as his burning of Aquascogoc demonstrates. We also talk about the open war which broke out between England and Spain and the effect that had on Bernard Drake's planned relief expedition to Roanoke Island.

Following Sir Humphrey Gilbert's death at sea in 1583, his half-brother, Sir Walter Raleigh, took up the mantle of American colonization. This episode discusses the reconnaissance voyage sent out by Raleigh in 1584, under the command of Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe. The Amadas-Barlowe expedition chose Roanoke Island as the best site for a future English colony, and initiated warm relations with the Roanoc Indians.

In this episode, we discuss Sir Humphrey Gilbert, the pioneer of British America. We first talk about Gilbert's family, connections, and activities in Ireland (spoiler alert: they aren't pretty). Following Gilbert's Irish stint, we take a look at his two attempts to colonize Newfoundland: his botched attempt in 1578 and his fatal attempt in 1583.