Roanoke The Abandoned Colony Summary

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An Overview of Roanoke: The Abandoned Colony This book written by historian Karen Ordahl Kupperman chronicled the events surrounding the historical controversy and mystery of the lost colony: Roanoke Island. It is what is now known as the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Before it became a United States territory, this island saw the dramatic struggles among the Indians who lived there, the colonists who were displaced from England, and the leaders of the expeditions who attempted to colonize the island in the 16th century. Outlining the events and more importantly describing the personalities involved in the expeditions to widen the influence of England, the book had one solid claim: that the efforts to colonize the island were from the very beginning bound to fail. At the time, the trend was for the leading nations of the globe to use their clout to enrich themselves through colonization. They vied for wealth and power. England, who eventually prevailed over Spain by defeating the Spanish Armada, failed twice to establish a settlement in Roanoke Island. How was this possible? The last established settlement …show more content…
The most powerful adversary of England at the time was Spain whose immense wealth was thanks to its plantations in America. Fittingly, Kupperman includes this historical context in her analysis. In the 16th Century, colonization and global supremacy were the foremost goals of the two nations who had the resources to achieve these. Another factor that elevated the conflict between the two superpowers was religion. Both England and Spain, which were the strongholds of the Protestant and Catholic Church respectively, believed that they had the blessings of a Supreme Being turning their battles into more just than a fight for power. It was for love of God as well; It was
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