What Happened to the Lost Colony?

The Lost Colony is one of the great NC mysteries. History professor Dr. David LaVere’s research shows that when the English colonists who were left on Roanoke in 1587 disappeared, they tried to leave clues to their whereabouts. Though John Smith and others would look for them, the Lost Colonists were never seen again by Europeans. Their fate terrified the English and had the potential to derail future English colonization. This talk explains Roanoke Indian society and politics, English Elizabethan politics and colonial ambitions, who and what made the Roanoke colony fail, and what LaVere believes happened to the Lost Colonists.

Funded project of the North Carolina Humanities Council, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.