When the English first arrived at the Outer Banks in the summer of 1584, they were greeted by native Algonquian-speaking people who had long occupied present-day North Carolina. That historic contact initiated the often-turbulent period of early American history commonly known as the Roanoke Voyages. Unfortunately, contemporary accounts regularly mischaracterize or marginalize the Algonquins, and their significance in this period is poorly understood. This volume is a unique collection of narratives highlighting by name all of the Algonquians who played a role in the often-contentious attempts to establish the first permanent English colony in the New World. Starting with Manteo, the fascinating Croatoan Indian who traveled to England twice and learned to speak English, this book focuses on the identities and endeavors of each of these individual Algonquians and tells their stories.

Recognized as the outstanding authority on early English exploration and settlement in America, David Beers Quinn brings together in this book the results of his nearly forty years of research on the subject.

Roanoke is part of the lore of early America, the colony that disappeared. Many Americans know of Sir Walter Ralegh's ill-fated expedition, but few know about the Algonquian peoples who were the island's inhabitants. The Head in Edward Nugent's Hand examines Ralegh's plan to create an English empire in the New World but also the attempts of native peoples to make sense of the newcomers who threatened to transform their world in frightening ways. Beginning his narrative well before Ralegh's arrival, Michael Leroy Oberg looks closely at the Indians who first encountered the colonists. The English intruded into a well-established Native American world at Roanoke, led by Wingina, the weroance, or leader, of the Algonquian peoples on the island. Oberg also pays close attention to how the weroance and his people understood the arrival of the English: we watch as Wingina's brother first boards Ralegh's ship, and we listen in as Wingina receives the report of its arrival. Driving the narrative is the leader's ultimate fate: Wingina is decapitated by one of Ralegh's men in the summer of 1586. When the story of Roanoke is recast in an effort to understand how and why an Algonquian weroance was murdered, and with what consequences, we arrive at a more nuanced and sophisticated understanding of what happened during this, the dawn of English settlement in America.

*National Bestseller* A sweeping account of America's oldest unsolved mystery, the people racing to unearth its answer, and the sobering truths--about race, gender, and immigration--exposed by the story of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. In 1587, 115 men, women, and children arrived at Roanoke Island on the coast of North Carolina. Chartered by Queen Elizabeth I, their colony was to establish England's first foothold in the New World. But when the colony's leader, John White, returned to Roanoke from a resupply mission, his settlers were nowhere to be found. They left behind only a single clue--a "secret token" carved into a tree. Neither White nor any other European laid eyes on the colonists again. What happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke? For four hundred years, that question has consumed historians and amateur sleuths, leading only to dead ends and hoaxes. But after a chance encounter with a British archaeologist, journalist Andrew Lawler discovered that solid answers to the mystery were within reach. He set out to unravel the enigma of the lost settlers, accompanying competing researchers, each hoping to be the first to solve its riddle. Thrilling and absorbing, The Secret Token offers a new understanding not just of the first English settlement in the New World but of how the mystery and significance of its disappearance continues to define and divide our country.

Drawing on extensive knowledge of Native American history, the author of From the Heart: Voices of the American Indian searches for the truth about the four-hundred-year-old disappearance of England's first colony in North America and the fate of Roanoke's doomed settlers. 35,000 first printing.

This history of Native Americans, from the period of first contactto the present day, offers an important variation to existingstudies by placing the lives and experiences of Native Americancommunities at the center of the narrative. Presents an innovative approach to Native American history byplacing individual native communities and their experiences at thecenter of the study Following a first chapter that deals with creation myths, theremainder of the narrative is structured chronologically, coveringover 600 years from the point of first contact to the presentday Illustrates the great diversity in American Indian culture andemphasizes the importance of Native Americans in the history ofNorth America Provides an excellent survey for courses in Native Americanhistory Includes maps, photographs, a timeline, questions fordiscussion, and “A Closer Focus” textboxes that providebiographies of individuals and that elaborate on the text, exposing students to issues of race, class, and gender

Discusses the attempts by English colonists to establish a settlement on Roanoke Island and describes the disappearance of the entire colony.

When Governor John White sailed for England from Roanoke Island in August 1587, he left behind more than 100 men, women and children. They were never seen again by Europeans. For more than four centuries the fate of the Roanoke colony has remained a mystery, despite the many attempts to construct a satisfactory, convincing explanation. New research suggests that all past and present theories are based upon a series of erroneous assumptions that have persisted for centuries. Through a close examination of the early accounts, previously unknown or unexamined documents, and native Algonquian oral tradition, this book deconstructs the traditional theories. What emerges is a fresh narrative of the ultimate fate of the Lost Colony.