Renaissance Role-Playing: The Colony of Roanoke, part III


Act III : On the Island of Roanoke

Write a Narrative
Hunger forces someone to goes to a creek a couple miles from the fort to catch crabs. He doesn't return. A search party is sent out, and they find this man is face down in a creek. His body is riddled with 16 arrows and his head is crushed by a heavy object, perhaps a club. But there were no Indians in sight, even though they searched for them.  They bring the man's body back to camp for burial. Tensions in camp are heightened. Write about this event and what decisions are made because of it.

Next day twenty armed men go visit the Croatoans, which are fifty-one miles south. When they reach Croatian Island, there are a group of Croatoan warriors gathered on shore, ready to fight. The party advances towards them, muskets drawn. The Croatoans begin to flee and Manteo calls to them in an Indian language, which makes the Croatoans throw down their weapons, turn back, approach Manteo and embrace him. They speak to Manteo and Manteo translates to the party, saying that they don't want the men to take their corn because they don't have much of it. Manteo replies, and tells the party that he has told the Indians, that your party have not come to take their corn, or anything else, only to "renew the old love,  that was between us, and them, at the first, and to live with them as brethren." Pleased by this response, the Croatoans invite you all to their town where you are welcomed and you are invited to feast with them. Write a narrative about this, in the style of a journal.

Have your student research the Croatan Indians, Secotan Indians, Wingina, Edward Stafford, Richard Grenville and Dasemunkepeuc and then give them the following:
The next day, in a conference with the Croatoan elders, with Manteo serving as an interperter, you learn that one of your men has been killed by Secotan warriors, a remnant of Wingina's people, who live at Dasemunkepeuc. They also tell you that Wanchese is one of this group,  but are not sure whether he was actually with the party that killed the man. Implying that they will help you take revenge, they ask that they be given a sign by which the English will be able to recognize Croatoans live their island.
Stafford asks if they know anything about what happened to the fifteen men left by Grenville on Roanoke Island. They tell you that they were attacked by a coalition of thirty warriors from the Secotans. Aquascocoge and Dasemunkepeuc. Two Secotan warriors had approached the English settlement,  feigning friendship, and invited a couple of Englishmen to meet with them unarmed. The Englishmen agreed and the Secotans clubbed one immediately and when the other ran back to the settlement, shot him with arrows. The rest of the Englishmen hid in their storehouse.  The Secotans set fire to the storehouse, which prompted the Englishmen to leave it. A fight ensued, with one Englishman being killed, and the rest escaping by boat toward Hatarask. They lived there (near the entrance of Port Ferdinando) but left there at some point and they don't know what happened to them after that.
White asks the Croatoans to deliver a message to the Secotans that if they would accept the settlers' friendship,  you all will "willingly receive them again." He also says that if this is what they want, they should tell the Croatoans to deliver a message back, or tell the Croatoans that they want to arrange a meeting, within seven days. The elders agree to send the message and you all depart. 
Write a narrative in the style of a journal entry about this incident.

A week passes and there is no word from the Croatoans and so White reluctantly launches a raid on Dasemunkepeuc. It is still dark when Stafford,  Manteo  and two dozen men, perhaps including the player characters,  cross over to the mainland. They quickly make their way to the woods adjoining Dasemunkepeuc and launch the attack. You see a group of men sitting around a fire. The Indians flee into dense reeds.  You follow,  "determined to aquitaine (revenge) their evil doing towards us." One of the Indians call out to you all that they are Croatoans. White orders you to stop the attack, and you find out that the Secotans had abandoned the town and the Croatoans were there gathering corn, tobacco and pumpkins.  White tells them that they did not know and could not tell the Croatoans from the Secotans for  "their men and women appareled all so like the others. "Manteo is greatly distressed but in the end sides with White,  telling the Croatoans that if they had sent messengers at the appointed time, they would have informed them of their plans. You all return to Roanoke Island with Croatoans in tow. 
Write about this in a narrative, including whether or not you try to heal them.

The Settlement
The building is finished. The men and teen boys stay into Lane's old houses. The Roanoke colony is set within a protective barrier of large posts. Not an actual wall, it is possible to look out the barrier but not fit through the gaps unless you are a small child or animal of no more than 3 stone (42 pounds). The barrier is set in a spiral, allowing those that guard the colony to control who comes and goes through a short passageway from the outside to the protected interior.
Situated on the outer edge of the colony, nearest the barrier,  are the barrack houses for the bachelor soldiers, servants and tradesmen. The families (Archards, Dares, Harveys, Joneses, Paynes, Powells, Tappans and Viccarses) move into the eight cottages on the inside, closest to the Village Circle.

Timeline
August 22: Manteo is christened and given the title of Lord of Roanoke and Dasemunkepeuc and that once the settlers move on to the Chesapeake area, Manteo will hold the area for the  English.

August 18: Eleanor Dare gives birth to a healthy baby girl whom she names Virginia. Everyone is in a celebratory mood.

August 21: Now that the ships are unloaded, Fernandes and his crew prepare to return to England. However,  a huge storm comes up. Fernandes cuts the Red Lion 's anchor cable to avoid being driven ashore, and the Red Lion with Fernandes and his crew sail out of the harbor.

The men decide to send Christopher Cooper back to England in the flyboat, and although he initially agrees, he later changes his mind.

August 22: The men implore White to go back to England to report to Raleigh and ask for a relief expedition. White is aghast and says he will not desert his post, that he did not lead the settlers to "a Country in which he never meant to stay himself,  and there to leave them behind him." He says those in England would accuse him of going to Virginia only to keep in Raleigh's good graces. He also states that because they "intend to remove fifty miles further up into the main presently" his possessions might be damaged or lost in his absence. The men draft a testimony to safeguard his goods and justify his departure. (quote)

August 26: White agrees to go back to England in behalf of the settlers. He assigns Roger Bailey and Ananias Dare to be in charge. They also decide, because of the Secotan attacks, the settlers should move inland where the Chowanocs live (near the head of Albemarle Sound) as these Indians, according to Ralph Lane,  had been loyal allies of the English the previous year. The Indians could help them when their food supplies ran low. The plan is to leave the penance behind with a couple of its small boats for the settlers' use in transporting them around the sounds and along the rivers. They could also use them to explore the Chesapeake Bay, skirting the coast. Either way, the plan is to leave a small contingency on Roanoke Island so these could keep track of the main groups' movements and be able to tell White of the main group's whereabouts once he returns. Also, in case of emergency and the settlers have to leave suddenly,  they are to carve the name of where they planned to move to on prominent trees so White could find them. A cross over the letters would signify that they were attacked and forced to depart.

August 27: Fernandes returns with the Red Lion. Flyboat is ready to sail. They both sail away together, but as the flyboat weights anchor, one of the capstan bars breaks, causing it to spin out of control. Several men hauling in the cable are badly injured and fly to the deck.

August 28: Margery Harvey gives birth to a baby.

Your assignment is to write a narrative in the context of the above events. Be sure to include at least one of the following details:
  • Hunger. 
  • Attack from hostile Indian tribes.
  • Help from friendly Indian tribes, such as the Croatians.
  • Bad weather. 
  • Sickness. 

To make this a more complete history curriculum, I also required my students to read Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, pgs 270-281 and had them write a summary of each of the topics covered. 

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