Reasons for failure

• Why was timing a reason for the Virginia project failing?

  • Ships set sail 9th April 1585
  • Set off too late to complete the voyage and plant the necessary crops to survive
• Why was the colonists' experience part of the reason the Virginia project failed?

  • Too many craftsman and not enough farmers
  • Bakers and weavers could not use their skills as their raw materials did not exist in Roanoke
  • The Tiger held their gunpowder which impacted their ability to fish and hunt
  • Colonists became reliant on the Algonquians
• Why were the indigenous people part of the reason the Virginia project failed?

  • Algonquians believed the English had supernatural powers to kill them however in reality the Europeans had brought diseases the Algonquians had no immunity to
  • Chief Wingina grew tired of the English and by Spring 1586, he had persuaded other chiefs to attack settlers
  • Ship captain Richard Grenville killed an Indian he accused of stealing his silver drinking cup and Ralph Lane executed Chief Wingina which ruined the relationship with the indigenous people
• Why was the reality of Virginia part of the reason the Virginia project failed?

  • Colonists believed there would be an abundance of precious resources but there was none

  Colonists did not work well together:

  • Farmers were unwilling to work for the upper classes
  • The merchants did not want to do manual labour and wrongly assumed the indigenous people would work for them
• Why was the initial voyage part of the reason the Virginia project failed?

  • The English arrived too late to plant crops and had to rely on the Algonquians for food
  • Colonists could not cope with the different climate so many fell ill on the voyage and food supplies rotted
  • The Tiger became damaged so seawater ruined the colonists' food supplies and crops