IT had been agreed, before White left, that if the colonists abandoned the settlement, they should carve the name of the place to which they had gone, on a tree or post. If they went away in distress, they were to cut a cross above the name. There was the name, but no cross. Croatoan, as shown on early maps, was an Indian village on an island not far away;* but though repeated search was eventually made there and elsewhere, not one of the colonists was ever found. Sir Walter Raleigh was obliged to give up his project; and America was left with not a single English settler, but with many “English graves.”
Raleigh had spent over forty thousand pounds on the colony. Such a sum probably represented upwards of a million of dollars now.* He could do no more;* but he said, “I shall live to see it an English nation.” He did live to see a permanent English settlement established in Virginia in 1607. A hundred and eighty-five years after that event (1792) Sir Walter’s name was given to the seat of government of North Carolina, and thus the “City of Raleigh” was enrolled among the capitals of the United States.
* Croatoan is now known as Hatteras Island, and lies some forty miles south of Roanoke in the Pamlico Strait off North Carolina. The settlers had landed here when they first arrived in the New World on July 22nd, 1587, and the islanders had been welcoming.
* Montgomery, an American, was writing in 1894. According to the calculator at Measuring Worth, £40,000 in 1585 would be equivalent to at least £10,000,000 in 2019.
* Some felt that the colony was abandoned too easily. In fairness to Raleigh, his six-year royal charter for founding the colony expired in 1590, his funding died with it, and his reputation at court was badly tarnished. Such mitigating circumstances did not discourage Sir Francis Bacon from ending his Essay on Plantations (1625) with a rebuke which has long been taken as a conscious judgment on the Roanoke colony: “It is the sinfullest thing in the world” he wrote “to forsake or destitute a plantation once in forwardness; for, besides the dishonour, it is the guiltiness of blood of many commiserable persons.”
Précis
In accord with their pre-arranged plan, the settlers’ message told White that they had gone to Croatoan Island and, since no cross was added, gone willingly. But nothing more was ever discovered of little Virginia or the other settlers. Raleigh’s colony at Roanoke was abandoned, though two centuries later a ‘city of Raleigh’ was founded in neighbouring North Carolina. (59 / 60 words)
In accord with their pre-arranged plan, the settlers’ message told White that they had gone to Croatoan Island and, since no cross was added, gone willingly. But nothing more was ever discovered of little Virginia or the other settlers. Raleigh’s colony at Roanoke was abandoned, though two centuries later a ‘city of Raleigh’ was founded in neighbouring North Carolina.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: because, if, may, ought, unless, until, whether, who.
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Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 City. Governor. Island.
2 Government. Settlement. There.
3 Given. Leaving. Unite.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
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