The Lost Colony

How a Chinese pirate defeated European colonialists and won Taiwan during the seventeenth century During the seventeenth century, Holland created the world's most dynamic colonial empire, outcompeting the British and capturing Spanish and Portuguese colonies. Yet, in the Sino-Dutch War—Europe's first war with China—the Dutch met their match in a colorful Chinese warlord named Koxinga. Part samurai, part pirate, he led his generals to victory over the Dutch and captured one of their largest and richest colonies—Taiwan. How did he do it? Examining the strengths and weaknesses of European and Chinese military techniques during the period, Lost Colony provides a balanced new perspective on long-held assumptions about Western power, Chinese might, and the nature of war. It has traditionally been asserted that Europeans of the era possessed more advanced science, technology, and political structures than their Eastern counterparts, but historians have recently contested this view, arguing that many parts of Asia developed on pace with Europe until 1800. While Lost Colony shows that the Dutch did indeed possess a technological edge thanks to the Renaissance fort and the broadside sailing ship, that edge was neutralized by the formidable Chinese military leadership. Thanks to a rich heritage of ancient war wisdom, Koxinga and his generals outfoxed the Dutch at every turn. Exploring a period when the military balance between Europe and China was closer than at any other point in modern history, Lost Colony reassesses an important chapter in world history and offers valuable and surprising lessons for contemporary times.

In this spine-tingling book from the nonfiction An Unsolved Mystery from History picture book series, journey to colonial America and discover the enduring mystery of the missing Roanoke Colony. In 1587 John White was chosen by Sir Walter Raleigh to lead a new colony at Roanoke off the Atlantic coast. After bringing many men, women, and children to the new land, White went back to England to gather supplies for the long winter. But when he finally returned to the fort almost three years later, he found that all of the colonists had vanished. The only signs of life left were the letters CRO carved into a tree and the word CROATOAN carved into one of the fort’s posts. Did the Spanish army capture the colonists? Did the colonists get in a battle with the native people—or join them? Did they try to follow John White to England and get lost at sea? Become a detective, study the clues, and see if you can help solve this chilling mystery from history!

New archeological discoveries may finally solve the greatest mystery of Colonial America in this history of Roanoke and Hatteras Islands. Established on what is now North Carolina’s Roanoke Island, the Roanoke Colony was intended to be England’s first permanent settlement in North America. But in 1590, the entire population disappeared without a trace. The only clue to their fate was the word “Croatoan” carved into a tree. For centuries, the legend of the Lost Colony has captivated imaginations. Now, archaeologists from the University of Bristol, working with the Croatoan Archaeological Society, have uncovered tantalizing clues to the fate of the colony. In The Lost Colony and Hatteras Island, Hatteras native and amateur archaeologist Scott Dawson compiles what scholars know about the Lost Colony along with what scholars have found beneath the soil of Hatteras.

Can humanity survive on a new world? The last survivors of the human race escaped a ruined Earth. Their new homeworld--Eos--seemed perfect at first. Warm. Hospitable. Safe from the grid. But everything isn't as it seems. The first colony of settlers--from the Carthage--have disappeared. Their settlement is still there, but everyone is gone. As James digs into the mystery of the lost colony, he discovers a series of spheres, buried on Eos. Are they the key to finding the lost colonists? Or are they responsible for their deaths? Just as James is unravelling the secrets of the spheres, a storm hits Jericho City. Emma, recently elected mayor, struggles to lead her people to safety while James tries to make his way home. In the middle of the chaos, a new danger emerges--a threat no one saw coming. With time running out to save the colonists, James and Emma face their hardest choice yet in the final pulse-pounding instalment in the Long Winter trilogy.

In 1587, John White and 117 men, women, and children landed off the coast of North Carolina on Roanoke Island, hoping to carve a colony from fearsome wilderness. A mere month later, facing quickly diminishing supplies and a fierce native population, White sailed back to England in desperation. He persuaded the wealthy Sir Walter Raleigh, the expedition's sponsor, to rescue the imperiled colonists, but by the time White returned with aid the colonists of Roanoke were nowhere to be found. He never saw his friends or family again. In this gripping account based on new archival material, colonial historian James Horn tells for the first time the complete story of what happened to the Roanoke colonists and their descendants. A compellingly original examination of one of the great unsolved mysteries of American history, A Kingdom Strange will be essential reading for anyone interested in our national origins.

*National Bestseller* A sweeping account of America's oldest unsolved mystery, the people racing to unearth its answer, and the sobering truths--about race, gender, and immigration--exposed by the story of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. In 1587, 115 men, women, and children arrived at Roanoke Island on the coast of North Carolina. Chartered by Queen Elizabeth I, their colony was to establish England's first foothold in the New World. But when the colony's leader, John White, returned to Roanoke from a resupply mission, his settlers were nowhere to be found. They left behind only a single clue--a "secret token" carved into a tree. Neither White nor any other European laid eyes on the colonists again. What happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke? For four hundred years, that question has consumed historians and amateur sleuths, leading only to dead ends and hoaxes. But after a chance encounter with a British archaeologist, journalist Andrew Lawler discovered that solid answers to the mystery were within reach. He set out to unravel the enigma of the lost settlers, accompanying competing researchers, each hoping to be the first to solve its riddle. Thrilling and absorbing, The Secret Token offers a new understanding not just of the first English settlement in the New World but of how the mystery and significance of its disappearance continues to define and divide our country.

November 1587. A report reaches London that Sir Walter Raleigh's expedition, which has left England months before to land the first English settlers in America, has foundered. Something has gone very wrong and the colony - 116 men, women and children - are in trouble. There will be no rescue: before help can reach them, all will vanish without trace. Were the Lost Colonists the victims of accident or of deliberate sabotage? Did they starve to death for lack of supplies or were they murdered by Indians? Their Governor, John White, admitted that they had enemies - powerful enemies who might want them dead. This remarkable work of historical detection establishes beyond doubt that the tragedy of the Lost Colony did not begin in far away Roanoke, but within the walls of Westminster - in the inner circle of Queen Elizabeth's government. Burghley, Walsingham, Leicester, Hatton, Essex - all had reasons to want Raleigh's mission to fail. Lee Miller examines the evidence and tells an astonishing story. After 400 years, the riddle of England's Lost Colony is brilliantly solved.

Losing her favored status with Queen Elizabeth I when her forbidden romance with Sir Walter Ralegh is discovered, Lady Catherine is banished to the doomed colony of Roanoke, where she suspects Ralegh's unfaithfulness and falls for Croatoan Native American, Manteo.