Jul 27, 1585Settlers in Roanoke
English ships carrying 75 settlers land on Roanoke Island, off the coast of modern-day North Carolina, one year after its selection by Sir Walter Raleigh as the site for an English settlement. This first group of colonists will abandon the settlement after less than a year, but a new party of fifteen will be deposited on the island by Richard Grenville to await another shipment of settlers and supplies.
Jul 22, 1587No Survivors at Roanoke
A group of 121 English settlers led by John White lands at Roanoke. They find no evidence of Grenville's 1586 party. White will return to England for supplies in August. He will be unable to return to Roanoke until 1590, at which time he will find the settlement abandoned. Raleigh will send a party in 1602 to search for survivors, but it will have no success.
May 24, 1607Jamestown Settlement
Three ships carrying 105 settlers select a site on Chesapeake Bay for a new settlement named Jamestown.
Dec 10, 1607Pocahontas Rescues Smith
Captain John Smith departs Jamestown with a provisioning party to obtain food from the neighboring Indian villages. During this mission, he will be captured by the Pamunkey chief Powhatan, leading to the legendary incident involving Smith's rescue by the Indian princess Pocahontas.
May 23, 1609Gates Governor
Sir Thomas Gates is named governor of the Jamestown colony as part of a reform effort which strengthens the power of the governor. He will arrive in Jamestown on 23 May 1610, only to discover that just 60 of the colony's 500 settlers have survived the preceding winter.
