When most people think of the first settlement, they think of the first successful settlement, Jamestown, but this was not the first settlement in the New World. The settlement of Roanoke was the first attempt to colonize the New World. The Roanoke settlement is often referred to as the “lost colony” due to its unusual disappearance. The reason people often don't know about the first settlement of Roanoke is because it was abandoned, forgotten, and lost. The settlement of Roanoke was located on an island on the north coast of present-day North Carolina. Just over a hundred English men first established the colony on Roanoke Island in 1584. Conditions were harsh and between lack of supplies and problems with the natives in the area the settlement was all but doomed from the start . Three years after the initial settlement was founded, in 1587, more Englishmen arrived: this time there were one hundred and ten settlers who were not only men, but also women and children. Women and children were brought to the New World so that the settlement could become a fully functioning society. Of course this idea obviously didn't work as expected. The ongoing war in Europe between the English and Spanish caused a delay in further supplies and people. If there had not been a prolonged delay in the replenishment process, the entire course of American history might not have been what we know it to be now. If the war had started earlier or later, people might have learned more about the first original settlement of the New World. The only evidence left when people returned to Roanoke after the war in Europe was the word "CROATOAN" carved into a tree. Historians believe these are signs left by Croatoan Indians...... middle of paper...... the arrival was shorter so the fate of the colony may have been different. The subsequent expedition to Roanoke was led by "John White, a talented amateur painter who kept a remarkable pictorial record of his experiences" (A Muse of Fire). Within six years this colony, thought to be in a good position, will be disappearance; “John White returned to England in search of food and relief. On his return he blew the trumpet to announce his arrival. His men sang English songs, but there was no response of Fire).There are many different theories that many different people have compiled over the years, including hostile Indians attacking the settlement. There is also the theory that comes from “scientists studying tree rings found that one of the worst droughts of the last eight hundred years occurred during the attempted settlement” (Elvin 16).