Row, row, row your boat, all the way to Roanoke
The first English colony in America, Roanoke, was established by the English as they were seeking gold and power. Spain was England's main competition for world supremacy, and the English wanted to be as powerful, perhaps more powerful than Spain.Establishing a colony on their own proved to be difficult as they experienced many obstacles which they could not overcome. One of their captains sailed back to England for supplies as members of the colony remained and when he returned, as pictured above, a clue was carved in a tree.
Captain White told the remaining colonists to leave a message if they were to leave the settlement. Croatoan is the name of an island near Roanoke and is believed to be the island where they went and lived with a Native American tribe. |
Pilgrims and the Beginning of Local Government
Why did the Pilgrims embark on a dangerous and risky endeavor to the New World? It all started back in England, a long, long time ago, almost 400 years ago. They weren't happy with the way the Church of England was being led, so they decided to separate from the church and head north. First they went to Holland, but they didn't like it there all that much, so they decided to head west.
In order to avoid the same fate as Roanoke, the Pilgrims decided to create a form of government to establish order and purpose. On board the Mayflower, they drafted an agreement, known as the Mayflower Compact, which would later inspire the writers of the Constitution. The Mayflower Compact started local government in the colonies which was a revolutionary idea at the time. Jamestown: A Colony Fit for a King?
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