Who established a colony on Roanoke lsland?

Britain fell behind in the race to colonize the Americas, but by the late 1500s, Queen Elizabeth wanted to find profitable colonies in the space North of Spanish Florida and south of New France. The second purpose was to establish a naval base overseas that would allow Britain to send privateers (pirates) to steal silver and other profitable goods from Spanish ships.

In 1584, Elizabeth gave Raleigh a charter to establish a colony to occupy "heathen and barbarous lands." Raleigh never went to North America himself, but instead sent two expeditions in 1584 and 1585 to establish a colony at Roanoke Island (present-day North Carolina). The colonists suffered from starvation, disease, and hostile relations with the Algonquin in the area. The colony was abandoned in 1586.

In 1587, Raleigh tried again, sending 115 colonists to establish a colony at Roanoke. After again suffering from the conditions in the new world, the leader of the expedition (John White) was sent to England to ask for aid.

Meanwhile, Britain had gone to war with Spain. Because of this, White was unable to return to the colony until 1590. When he did return, the settlement was abandoned, and the only clue was the word "CROATOAN" carved into a post. (This was both the name of a nearby island and phonetically close to the name of a nearby Native American tribe).