Mystery of the Roanoke Colonists

Mystery of the Roanoke Colonists — page 5
Privateering The Work of Pirates Privateering was a way for countries to attack other countries ships without declaring war Privateering was a legal term that meant the people stealing were doing it at the instruction of their governments Regular pirates worked for themselves But they did the same thing It was usually done as a way to steal other countries wealth Many countries did this during the 1500s because of the gold and other goods found in the West Indies One of the reasons the English wanted a colony on the coast of America was to easily reach Spanish ships returning to Spain from the West Indies The English felt this was the best way to keep Spain from becoming too wealthy and powerful North America England’s Queen Elizabeth and her advisor Sir Walter Raleigh also wanted to build colonies in America If England had colonies it could stop Spanish ships from returning to Spain with gold and other goods England sent two ships to explore America in the spring of 1584 The ships arrived in July at what is today known as the Outer Banks of North Carolina The English explorers had been in America three days when Native Americans of the 6