Question

Twenty years before british colonists landed at jamestown, 115 settlers landed on an island off the coast of present-day north carolina and founded the colony of roanoke. the year was 1587, and the plan was to establish the first permanent english settlement in north america. during the grueling first year, it became clear the colony was running out of supplies. the colony’s governor, john white, sailed back to england to gather what they needed. but as white arrived in england, war broke out between england and spain. his plan to return to roanoke immediately was derailed when every available ship was required to join the war. three years later, when white and his crew finally returned, the settlement was gone. the people were gone; the buildings were gone. everything had vanished without a trace, except for one thing: a wooden post with the word croatoan carved into it. what is the main idea of this passage? a a combination of bad conditions and bad timing contributed to the disappearance of the roanoke colony. b john white is to blame for the disappearance of the roanoke colony and its inhabitants. c without the failure of the roanoke colony, jamestown would have never been established in north america. d the british government decided the roanoke colony was less important than the anglo-spanish war.

Answer 1

The passage suggests a combination of challenges, including scarce resources and the Anglo-Spanish War, led to the abandonment of the Roanoke colony, without directly blaming John White for its disappearance.

Step-by-step explanation:

The main idea of the passage about the Roanoke colony is that a combination of bad conditions and bad timing contributed to the disappearance of the settlement.

This idea is supported by details indicating that upon finding the colony of Roanoke deserted, with the word "Croatoan" being the sole clue, it was not immediately clear what had happened to the colonists.

Issues like lack of supplies, potential conflicts with native populations, and the delay caused by the Anglo-Spanish war played crucial roles in the unsuccessful establishment of this early English colony.

John White, the governor, faced numerous setbacks including being stranded in England due to the war effort, which prohibited his timely return to Roanoke.

The speculation about the settlers merging with the local Native American population or suffering some kind of disaster leaves their fate to remain mystifying, earning Roanoke the moniker of "the lost colony".

However, White's inability to return did not necessarily lay blame on him for the colony's disappearance.