Of Roanoke: The Abandoned Colony By Karen Ordahl Kupperman

905 Words4 Pages

Many people believe that Christopher Columbus was the first to discover the New World, but he was not. Jamestown is also considered our first colony; however it was not. In the book Roanoke: The Abandoned Colony the author, Karen Ordahl Kupperman makes these statements. Before Jamestown the most mysterious is the lost colony, also known as the Roanoke colony. The book indicates that there were Natives living in America before Columbus and anyone else. It also tells the reader about their voyage and the adventure they all had by discovering new land. The author was successful and reached her goal by letting readers and other people know about the colony. Using logic, she stated the dates when everything occurred and also indicates the diaries …show more content…

Karen does not take sides which is very political. She also describes the conditions the men were in while on the ship, which makes the reader feel it, emotionally. In chapter seven she stated “Conditions were terrible: the sailors began to fall sick and two died, they had nothing to drink but stinking water, dregs of beer, and less of win”. In chapter eight one feels as if it were happening “All ventures were risky in the extreme, because the margin between success and failure was paper thin.” She also states in chapter nine, “The woman Ralegh chose gives another dimension to our understanding of his personality; she was as strong as he was.” Which deals with the emotions that were going on in that time period and among others as well since Queen Elizabeth hated to see those around her get …show more content…

Gilbert led an expedition and took possession of land called Newfoundland. He had very poor leadership skills and failed to inaugurate the first colony in North America in that time period. Unfortunately, Gilbert ran into a storm and many say he was lost at sea. The following year, Walter Raleigh went back to Queen Elizabeth and obtained a six year grant. He sent explorers Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe; they were the first to set eyes on the Roanoke Island. When Amadas and Barlowe returned a year later with two Indians, Wanchese and Manteo, all of Britain was eager with talk of the New World and its miracles. Raleigh went to the Queen and asked permission to name the island Virginia in honor of her, "the Virgin Queen" in confidence that she would give him more money for the expedition he was planning to

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