Sir Walter Raleigh’s Lost Colony Part 2
Before Raleigh sent settler to America, he wanted to find a food place
for them to live. He sent some explorers to look for a place. Raleigh
himself did not go with the explorers. The explorers crossed the
Atlantic Ocean and sailed along the coast of what is now North
Carolina. It was summer and the weather was warm, and the sky was
blue.
The explorers landed on an island along the coast. They found grass and big trees. They saw
deer and other animals and many birds. In this new country, the explorers also saw Indians.
The English had heard about Indians, for Columbus had found them here when he discovered
America. The Indians seemed friendly. One day the English watched an Indian catch enough
fish to fill his canoe in less than half an hour. On another day, they saw a tall Indian wearing a
copper plate on his head. He gave the Englishmen twenty animal skins for one of their bright
tin pans. The Indian made a hole in the pan and hung it around his neck.
Raleigh was pleased when the explorers came back and told him about the country they had
found and the Indians who lived there. He thought the country should have a beautiful name,
and he wanted to name it for the queen. He asked Queen Elizabeth if he might name it
“Virginia” for her.
Elizabeth was often called the Virgin Queen of England, because she had never been married.
So the new country was named Virginia for her. The English people liked the name. For a long
time, all the land that is now the eastern part of the United States was called Virginia. Queen
Elizabeth wanted to honor Raleigh, so she made him a knight. After that he was called Sir
Walter Raleigh.
Soon Sir Walter Raleigh was ready to send his first settlers to Virginia, but he himself did not
go with them. He sent more than one hundred men to an island that the Indians called
Roanoke Island. This island is a part of North Carolina now. At that time, it was part of
Virginia. Raleigh’s explorers had seen Roanoke Island in the summer. They did not know that
bad storms came to the island in the winter.
The settlers were not happy on Roanoke Island. They did not want to live in such a stormy
place, and many of the Indians were not friendly. The settlers went back to England as soon as
they could get a ship to take them. Sir Walter Raleigh’s first colony failed.
Directions: Read each question. Choose the
best answer.
1. What ocean did sailors from England
have to cross to get to America?
A. Atlantic
B. Indian
C. Pacific
D. Arctic
2. Who did Raleigh send to America first?
A. Settlers
B. Explorers
C. Men, women, and children
D. Slaves
3. What season of the year did the
explorers visit the island?
A. Spring
B. Fall
C. Winter
D. Summer
4. What name did Raleigh give the new
land?
A. America
B. New World
C. Virginia
D. North Carolina
5. Why did Raleigh choose that name?
A. He liked the way it sounded.
B. He wanted to honor Queen
Elizabeth.
C. Virginia was a popular name back
then.
D. The Indians there called the land
Virginia.
6. Why was Queen Elizabeth called the
“Virgin Queen”?
A. She had never been married.
B. She liked parties and dancing.
C. She loved to explore new places.
D. She wanted to marry a hero.
7. How did the queen honor Raleigh?
A. Gave him lots of gold.
B. Made him a knight.
C. Married him.
D. Sent him on his ship to explore the
new land for himself.
8. What happened to the group of settlers
that Raleigh sent to the new land next?
A. They died of starvation.
B. They were killed by natives.
C. They disappeared.
D. They went back to England.
9. Why did the settlers not like the new
land?
A. The island was stormy, and the
Indians were not friendly.
B. The island did not have enough food
and fresh water.
C. The island was too close to
dangerous wilderness.
D. The island was full of friendly Indians
who traded with them.
10. In what state is Roanoke Island in
today?
A. Virginia
B. Kentucky
C. Maryland
D. North Carolina