The Roanoke Colony was England's first attempt at a permanent settlement in the New World, established in 1585. Among the 1587 group of settlers was Eleanor Dare, who gave birth to Virginia Dare—the first English child born in the Americas. When Governor John White returned from a supply run to England in 1590, delayed by the Anglo-Spanish War, he found the settlement completely deserted. The word 'CROATOAN,' referring to a nearby island and tribe, was carved into a post. White believed it indic