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Indeed, not every attempt to settle North America was successful. In fact, many European settlements were complete failures. From harsh winters, to food shortages, disease, and clashes with the Natives, many settlers had to abandon their new homes. But how much do we know about these failed colonies in North America?
Click through the following gallery to discover their fascinating history.
In 1521, the Spanish sailed out of Cuba on an expedition to South Carolina. They returned convinced it would be the perfect place for a settlement. Magistrate and explorer Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon managed to secure the funds, and, four years later, six ships with 600 colonists founded the first European colony in North America (since the Vikings, at least).
They reached Winyah Bay in August 1526, but shortly after lost their Native pathfinders and their main ship sank, together with lots of supplies. Men went on a scouting mission until they eventually founded a new town—San Miguel de Gualdape (in present-day Georgetown County).
But then failed crops and disease (especially dysentery) hit the colony, and many died (including Ayllon himself). The colonists split into two groups: some wanted to stay, others wanted to leave. This led to further conflict. By November, the last remaining men abandoned the failed colony.
French explorer Jacques Cartier was looking for an alternative sea route to China, and the shores of Canada appealed to him. So, in 1541, Cartier and around 400 others established a colony they named Charlesbourg-Royal (modern-day Cap Rouge, Quebec).
The colony survived its first winter. They built a fort in two sections, one by the river to ensure vessels were protected, and another section at the top with houses and strategically positioned on the hill for defense.
But then the relationship with the local Iroquois deteriorated until they became downright hostile. Predicting the fall of the colony, Cartier and his men returned to France in June 1542.
The settlement was then taken over by Jean-François de La Rocque, sieur de Roberval, but by 1543 bad weather, disease, and clashes with the local peoples proved too much and the colony officially fell.
In 1559, Spanish conquistador Tristán de Luna y Arellano sailed from Veracruz, Mexico, and reached modern-day Florida. He then settled in Pensacola.
Shortly after his arrival, a hurricane sank the Spanish ships, together with their supplies. The expedition had brought about 1,500 soldiers, colonists, enslaved Africans, and Aztecs to the new colony. Many of these marched inland to look for food, fragmenting the group. By 1561, Ochuse was abandoned.
In June 1564, French colonists built Fort Caroline on the banks of the St. Johns River in present-day Duval County, Florida.
After learning about its existence, the Spanish, led by Pedro Menendez de Aviles, set sail on a mission to conquer it, but failed. The Spanish instead made landfall further south and built a fort. This fort would come to be known as St. Augustine—the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in North America.
The Spanish eventually attacked Fort Caroline by land and seized it, killing everyone, except women and children. The fort would later be burned to the ground.
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded the Spanish colony of Santa Elena in 1566 (modern-day Parris Island, South Carolina). Santa Elena became the capital of Spanish Florida.
In 1576, the colony was attacked and burned down by the natives. The Spanish returned and remained for some time, clashing with natives on a few occasions. They eventually focused their attention in Central America and abandoned Santa Elena in 1587.
Following the settlement in Santa Elena, the Spanish moved inland through La Florida—modern-day North and South Carolina. Explorer Juan Pardo and 125 men led the expedition to find a land route to Mexico.
Pardo and his men found the native town of Joara (spelled Xuala on the pictured map), which they claimed and renamed as Cuenca (modern-day Burke County, North Carolina). They proceeded to build a fort, known as Fort San Juan, to control the town. Pardo, however, never made it to Mexico. The Natives ended up destroying all Spanish forts across the Carolinas, including Fort San Juan.
In 1570, nine Jesuit missionaries founded the colony of Ajacán on Chesapeake Bay. They had the help of a member of the local Powhatan tribe, named Paquiquineo (whom the Spanish had kidnapped years before and christened as Don Luis). This man was supposed to help convince the Natives to convert.
One day, Paquiquineo led the missionaries into the woods, looking for food, only to disappear. He managed to escape and return with the Powhatan to destroy the Spanish mission and kill everyone. That was the end of the Ajacán mission.
In 1584, Walter Raleigh was granted a charter by the British Crown to establish a colony in North America. In 1585, Raleigh and about 100 people landed in Roanoke and established said colony.
In 1586, explorer Francis Drake and the settlers sailed back to England. Food shortages and conflicts with Natives dictated the end of the first English settlement in North America.
A year later, colonist John White brought 100 new settlers to Roanoke, but he went back to England to get supplies, the trip was delayed by an attack by the Spanish Armada.
White returned to Roanoke a year later to find that the colony had been abandoned. All he found was the word “Croatoan” carved into a fence and “Cro” carved into a tree. It’s believed the settlers moved to the nearby Croatoan Island, but a rescue mission was never done. The fate of the settlers remains unknown to this day.
French noble Marquis de La Roche settled in Sable Island circa 1589 or 1599. The island, located off the coast of Nova Scotia, was populated by around 70 convicts, who were given the chance to escape a death sentence and become settlers instead.
Sable Island, also known as “the graveyard of the Atlantic” for its large number of shipwrecks, soon became unruly and plagued by crime. De La Roche stopped supplying the island with goods, and by 1603 just over 10 settlers remained alive. The island still has a population of wild horses descending from animals introduced by European settlers.
Saint Croix Island, located off the coast of Maine, was first settled by French colonizer Pierre Dugua de Mons and cartographer Samuel Champlain in 1604.
A harsh winter, food shortages, and disease (mostly scurvy) led to the death of nearly half the settlers during their first winter. In August, de Mons and his settlers abandoned the island.
Pierre Dugua de Mons and the survivors of Saint Croix Island then moved to a new settlement in Nova Scotia, called Port-Royal.
In 1607, Pierre Dugua de Mons had his fur-trading license revoked, and the colony’s main source of income was lost. It was downhill from there. The colony ended up being burned to the ground by the English. Pictured is a replica at the Port-Royal National Historic Site.
Popham Colony (at the mouth of the Kennebec River, Maine) was founded by the Virginia Company in 1607. The settlement was where the first English ship built in the New World was constructed. “The Virginia,” or “Virginia of Sagadahoc,” crossed the Atlantic successfully.
In 1607, about half of the settlers sailed back to England due to food shortages. And by 1608, the remaining inhabitants abandoned England’s first New England settlement.
Sources: (History) (Listverse)
The lost colonies of North America
Discover the European colonies that failed in North America
LIFESTYLE History
Indeed, not every attempt to settle North America was successful. In fact, many European settlements were complete failures. From harsh winters, to food shortages, disease, and clashes with the Natives, many settlers had to abandon their new homes. But how much do we know about these failed colonies in North America?
Click through the following gallery to discover their fascinating history.