Joanne FreemanI don't know if I'm breaking rules by doing this, but this is the MOST BRILLIANT TWEET.
In my humble opinion.
John Lusk
Fluz@tarheel kinda? I mean I believe they just ended up assimilating into the native peoples. But that might be naive on my part. A lot of early English settlement to North America seems well intentioned, until you dig deeper.
@Fluzbug (I can tell this is gonna be a thread.) Yeah, there's that whole "we just came to co-exist and y'all started shooting arrows at us" thing that makes a happy story we grow up with, but... Europe ("the West") was in debt due to constant war (plus, you know... humans are greedy) and there were exploitable resources over here, and we came to exploit, no doubt. Go to Jamestown VA and talk to the re-enactors there. We were at war with the Indians pretty much from the get-go. 1/
@Fluzbug I'm not as familiar w/the North as w/the South, but I'm guessing you don't buy the island of Manahattan if you're just setting up a quaint little fishing village or trading post.
Anyway, blah blah blah, I don't REALLY mean to be getting into white colonization of the New World, BUT... that whole "Lost Colony" thing is just straight out white lore. Yes, the haunting mystery of "CROATAN" appeals, but that's because we're raised to believe white is special and... 2/
@Fluzbug ...the mysterious loss of a white colony is a particularly poignant tragedy. The whole "Virginia Dare" (first WHITE baby born in the New World) thing is really just racist on top of the colonialism.
My dad took us to see that outdoor play more than once, and I just ate it up. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure now why it got burned down one winter.
Anyway, here we are on Mastodon, the Brave New World, and somebody throws up CROATAN. Turns out I've got a REFLEX.
3/
@Fluzbug Maybe we could talk about the cliff dwellings of Twitter. Who were these people? Look at these amazing structures they built. Where did they go? Was it a tragedy? We don't even know. Is THAT a tragedy?
4/I think I'm done. Maybe.
@tarheel as hinted at I’m aware of the dark side of colonization of North America. My ancestors bought lands from the natives then they just kinda took more when they felt like it resulting in king Phillips war. But Roanoke island most historians believe they just integrated peacefully, as far as I’m aware.
Mmmaybe. Or maybe they just didn't last long enough to enter into hostile relations w/the locals.
Anyway, the modern-day lore of the Lost Colony is problematic and I think we can do better than to invoke it unadvisedly.
Wikipedia on the subject: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roanoke_Colony#:~:text=Raleigh's%20charter%2C%20issued%20on%20March,%2C%20occupy%2C%20and%20enjoy%22.
«The [Lost Colony] colonists were largely middle-class Londoners, perhaps seeking to become landed gentry.»
(i.e., not the desperate poor) At this point, there was already bad blood due to an earlier colony (Lane).
«On August 9, White led a pre-emptive strike on Dasamongueponke, but the enemy (fearing reprisal for the death of Howe) had withdrawn from the village, and the English accidentally attacked Croatan looters.»
Holy moly, it just goes on and on.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roanoke_Colony#Investigations_into_Roanoke
Ok, here we go: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roanoke_Colony#Integration_with_local_tribes
I think it's going a little far, though, to paint a picture of colonists peacefully co-existing w/local natives.