One topic that we have studied so far this semester is the Roanoke Colony. This is also the topic I have chosen to write my term paper on. This topic interests me because historians still don't exactly know what happened to the colonists living in the colony. Though they disappeared long ago, historians have gathered what little information they can on what caused the entire colony to disappear in three short years. There are many theories as to what happened to that group of colonists, but it is unlikely that we will ever know for sure what really happened on Roanoke Island. The Roanoke Colony, also called the "lost  colony, was an attempt by Queen Elizabeth to establish a permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was founded on Roanoke Island in Dare County, in present day North Carolina (What Happened to ¦). Sir Walter Raleigh sent out an expedition to explore the Coast of the Americas. They came back with native peoples, and after hearing more about the area they were from, Raleigh agreed that this would be a good location for their new settlement (Wolfe). John White was in charge of the Colony of Roanoke while Sir Walter Raleigh was still in England. White returned to England in late 1587 for supplies, and was unable to return until 3 years later, in 1590. Upon his return, the entire colony had vanished. There were 90 men, 17 women, and 11 children living in the colony when White had left 3 years earlier, and now they were all gone (Lane). The only clue to what had happened was the word "Croatoan  carved into a fence post. White had told the leaders of the colony what to do in the event that they were captured and forced to move while he was absent. He asked them to carve a Maltese Cross on a nearby tree if they were forced to move or taken under capture. White found no evidence on a cross having been carved, and assumed that this meant they had moved willingly (Roanoke Colony Deserted). Upon his return, White wanted