English Colonizers

Thomas Hariot was a leading scientist and scholar of sixteenth-century England. Having graduated from St. Mary’s Hall, Oxford in 1580 with a concentration in astronomy and mathematics, he was soon employed by Sir Walter Raleigh to assist in the colonization of the New World. His documentation of the New World proved invaluable to Europe's understanding of this mysterious land.

John White was a talented artist who made the voyage from England to Roanoke Island three times. In 1585, he traveled to the New World to document the people, flora, and fauna of the Outer Banks. In 1587, he returned as governor of the "Lost Colony." In 1590, he made the journey one final time, hoping to learn the fate of the colonists.

The son-in-law of John White, husband of Eleanor Dare, and father to Virginia Dare, Ananias Dare was a member of the 1587 expedition to Roanoke Island. One of nine leaders chosen by John White, Ananias had belonged to a bricklayers guild in England, likely elevating his status among the colonists.

Daughter of John White, wife to Ananias Dare, and mother to Virginia Dare, Eleanor Dare was part of the 1587 expedition to the New World. One of seventeen female colonists, she vanished along with everyone else sometime after 1587.

A Czech mineralist and the first Jewish person to set foot in the New World, Joachim Gans was part of the 1585 expedition to Roanoke Island. Along with Thomas Hariot, Gans constructed a metallurgy shop near the earthen fort, experimenting with various metals.

Sir Walter Raleigh, explorer, soldier, seaman, writer, and favorite subject of Queen Elizabeth I was, as its sponsor, primarily responsible for the attempted colonization of Roanoke Island in the 1580s. Although Raleigh himself never set sail for the colony, his strong desire to establish an English colony in the New World made him a major player in England’s goal of eclipsing the Spanish as a global superpower.

Queen Elizabeth I is one of the most famous rulers of England. Portions of her reign are often referred to as "The Golden Age". Believing that expansion of the English empire was key to overcoming the Spanish and French, Elizabeth supported Sir Walter Raleigh's Roanoke voyages.

The first English child born in North America, Virginia Dare was born at Roanoke Island on August 18, 1587 to Ananias and Eleanor Dare. Virginia's grandfather was John White, governor of the 1587 expedition. Virginia Dare disappeared with the rest of the colonists sometime after 1587.

Philip Amadas, along with Arthur Barlowe, led the first English expedition to the New World in 1584.

Arthur Barlowe, along with Philip Amadas, led the first English expedition to Roanoke Island in 1584. His writings of the landscape and the Carolina Algonquian proved invaluable to Sir Walter Raleigh.