Renaissance · North America · Exploration

1590

John White Finds Roanoke Empty

1590

Delayed by the Armada war, John White finally returned to Roanoke Island to find the settlement deserted and the word CROATOAN carved into a post. No bodies, no sign of struggle, no survivors. The fate of the Lost Colony has been debated ever since, and White never saw his granddaughter again.

More from 1590 Renaissance

In context

Also in 1590 (4 other events on record)

Hideyoshi Takes Odawara · East Asia · War
Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg · Europe · Science
Spenser Publishes the Faerie Queene · Europe · Culture
Henry IV Wins at Ivry · Europe · War

Before and after in North America

Before: 1587: Second Roanoke Colony Lands
After: 1597: Second Roanoke Mystery Deepens

Before and after in Exploration

Before: 1587: Second Roanoke Colony Lands
After: 1595: Dutch Reach the East Indies

Era

Renaissance (1501–1650), one of 715 events from that era on Saeculum.