About the Book This book describes the first attempt by the English to gain a foothold in today's United States, 22 years before Jamestown, Virginia. These Elizabethans investigated the natural resources of Virginia and North Carolina. Their positive findings encouraged the English to try again at Jamestown. American technology began in 1585 with a make-shift assay furnace in an unlikely spot-a small island inside the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This book describes what the noted archaeologist Ivor Noël Hume calls "America' First Science Center." But this name belies the humble birth of our technology in a small shed formed of horizontal logs. The area of technological activity has been pin pointed by archaeologists. However, the location on Roanoke Island of the First English Settlement in America is still disputed. According to government historians, it was located at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. However, this volume casts doubt on the official line: "In this book, The Search for the First English Settlement in America, Historian Gary Grassl re-examines the evidence both archaeologically and documentary and puts forth a convincing argument that at the Fort Raleigh site seeing should not be believing. In so doing, he makes a major contribution to the annals of Roanoke Island. At the same time, he addresses the still vexing question of where to look for the archaeological footprints left by both the first and second colonizing efforts." These are the words of Noel Hume, America's foremost authority on early English colonization. This book reads like a mystery novel, and the readers is encouraged to play historical detective. The author examines clues on the ground and in ancient documents. He offers evidence--pro and con. But the challenge for the reader lies in reaching his own conclusions about some intriguing mysteries at the beginning of our country.
In 1585, the English made their first attempt to gain a
foothold in what is today the United States. This First Settlement has
sometimes been called "the Cradle of America," because it was here that the
United States began. Three successive groups made the First Settlement
their home. They came at the initiative of Sir Walter Raleigh during the
reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Before the settlers, however, Philip Amadas and
Arthur Barlow explored the nearby islands and sounds. In his famous sketch,
the artist John White shows them sailing toward the Indian village of
Roanoac in 1584; it was northwest of an inlet later called Shallowbag Bay
(see front cover).
The First Colony of 107 settlers arrived in the area of Roanoke Island in
June 1585. They began to build a fort and an adjacent small village that
August under the leadership of their "Governour" Ralph Lane. He named the
fortification "the New Forte in Verginia," and the village he called the
"towne." This fort plus "towne" constituted the First English Settlement
in America. Because it included a number of soldiers, historians have
labeled this First Colony the "military colony." However, it was much more
than that. The settlers included the astronomer and algebraist Thomas
Harriot and a team of mineral men featuring the senior metallurgist Joachim
Gans. These pioneers were a ventursome lot. After landing in the American
wilderness, they forthwith set out to study its flora and fauna and to
discover and test its potential commodities. The mineralogists built a
laboratory and conducted tests. Their findings showed enough economic
promise to encourage the establishment of a permanent settlement 22 years
later at Jamestown, Virginia.
American technology began in 1585 in an unlikely spot--a small island
inside the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This book explores what National
Geographic magazine calls "Colonial America's First Science Center."
Conceived by Ivor Noel Hume, this name belies the humble birth of U.S.
technology in a small shed. This great industry had its beginning, in a
sense, with a homemade assay oven in a crude laboratory. Here, the "mineral
man" Gans tested native copper objects for their silver content. But why
was he forced to rely on a make-shift assay oven made of locally fired
bricks? This at a time when an assayer never left home without his
professionally constructed metal furnace? This and many other questions
about the first English Settlement are tackled in this book.
The site of this pioneer technological activity has been pin pointed by
archaeologists. The location of the first Settlement and its fort is also
known--official historians tell us. According to the U.S. National Park
Service, it was located at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, Roanoke
Island, NC. Here, in 1950, the NPS re-excavated the remains of an old
earthwork and styled it "Fort Raleigh." "Historian Gary Grassl re-examines
the evidence both archaeologically and documentary and puts forth a
convincing argument that at the Fort Raleigh site seeing should not be
believing," said Noel Hume, the foremost American authority on early
English colonization.
