Now it happened that Queen Elizabeth Tudor of England had granted permission to Sir Walter Raleigh to organize an expedition to plant an English colony in America. The Queen, however, would not allow him to leave her side, and he was forced to commit the care and oversight of the venture to his cousin Sir Richard Grenville. Even so, by early April of 1585, a small fleet of seven ships had been assembled at Plymouth and was ready to depart for America.
2 Sir Richard was to be assisted in the venture by Thomas Harriot, an employee of Raleigh’s who was proficient in matters related to navigation and the Algonquian tongue of the native inhabitants of the new land. Also, among the would-be colonists was a master mercer named Hugh Rogers, who was accompanied by a young apprentice named Thomas Buckner.
3 It wasn’t exactly clear, however, why an expedition to plant a colony in the wilds of America needed a dealer in fabrics and clothing and his young trainee. In hindsight, things of that nature would prove to be indicative of the arrogance and poor planning that permeated the entire affair.
4 Ready or not, however, the colonists were not deterred from embarking on their voyage across the Atlantic. “If the Spanish can do it, so can we,” was the attitude of most of the Englishmen. Moreover, by the end of June, they had successfully crossed the Atlantic and were cruising along the coast of what would one day be called North Carolina.
5 Their first stop was a little Indian village named Aquascagock. Unfortunately, one of Grenville’s silver cups went missing during their visit there, and the gallant knight decided to burn down the village to demonstrate that theft would not be tolerated by the English.
6 “We are informed by natural reason that courtesy and mildness should be made use of before cruelty and roughness,” he admitted to his associates. “But, if the savages are not to be satisfied with these good and fair means, then it is no breach of manners to defend ourselves and our property,” he continued.
7 Thomas Harriot cleared his throat and looked down at the ground. “We must do whatever is necessary for our safety, and it is allowable to resist violence with violence!” Sir Richard finished with a flourish of self-righteousness.
8 From there, they moved on to the Island of Roanoke and disembarked. They quickly set about the task of erecting shelters and unloading their supplies. Even so, without anyone saying a word, the incident at Aquascagock had made everyone more solicitous of friendly relations with the natives.
9 “These people have a great deal to teach us about this land,” Harriot told Grenville. “Yes,” the knight agreed. “We must show ourselves friendly by giving them whatever petty merchandise and trifles that we have with us,” he continued. “We must signify to them that friendship with Christians can be a great advantage to them.”
10 “That is not what I meant,” Harriot whispered under his breath. As Grenville was constantly encouraging the colonists to finish the fort surrounding their settlement, it was obvious to Thomas that he was more interested in keeping the “savages” out than in developing a constructive relationship with them.
11 Toward the end of summer, as the fort was nearing completion, Grenville decided to return to England. He left Ralph Lane in charge of the colonists. “I will return by Easter,” he told them and promptly set sail for the motherland.
12 “I cannot say that I am entirely disappointed to see him go,” Harriot whispered to the young apprentice standing next to him. Thomas Buckner laughed at the remark and shook his head in agreement. “Though, I do hope that he returns,” Harriot added as almost an afterthought.
13 Buckner had gone out of his way to befriend Harriot since the beginning of their adventure together. “He knows something about everything,” Thomas remembered thinking soon after they’d met. Harriot’s mind was constantly in motion, and Thomas Buckner was in awe of his thought processes. “He’s always studying the world around him and thinking about new ways to do things,” he’d confided to his master one day about his new friend.
14 Indeed, over the dreary months of privation that followed, Harriot was the one bright spot that Thomas would later recall about the ordeal. On those long cold winter nights, when his stomach was growling with hunger, Harriot would discourse on different topics and keep Thomas and the others amused.
15 Even so, while the Englishmen were trying to keep themselves fed and warm, the “savages” had been watching the new outpost with interest. “Why have your people allowed those pale faced ones to be there?” Powhatan asked one of his captives. “They are no threat to anyone – they are very weak and stupid,” the man responded.
16 “Then why haven’t you killed them or driven them from your land?” Powhatan persisted. The prisoner was silent. “They should not be there - watch them closely,” the mighty chieftain told his warriors.
17 Easter came and went without any sign of Grenville. However, Sir Francis Drake arrived at Roanoke in June with a fleet of ships which had just returned from raiding Spain’s outposts in the West Indies.
18 “I can carry you and your men back to England,” Drake offered to Lane when he saw the condition of the colonists. After some consideration, the governor decided to accept Drake’s offer and abandon the outpost. “I will be glad to leave this place and return home,” he confided to the privateer.
19 And, with that decision, Britain’s first attempt to establish a colony in America was left hanging by a thread (only a few individuals remained). And, although Grenville arrived a few weeks later, he decided to only leave part of the settlers who were with him and also sailed for home.
20 Within two years of returning to England, Thomas Buckner’s apprenticeship formally came to an end. He was admitted as a freeman by London’s Worshipful Company of Mercers. He was now considered a professional mercer by his peers and had the ability to take on his own apprentices.
21 That summer, the Spanish Armada also set out to conquer Britain. Although that endeavor was an abysmal failure, it was a sufficient distraction to take the nation’s attention off the Roanoke Colony. Nevertheless, when the British finally returned to America, the remaining colonists had disappeared without a trace and the legend of the Lost Colony was born.
22 At the beginning of the final decade of the Sixteenth Century, Thomas Buckner was married to Elizabeth Crackplace, and the union had produced three children by the end of the Century (Thomas, John and Anne). In 1599, his wife’s younger brother William became his first apprentice.
23 “You’ve become quite prosperous!” Thomas Harriot told his old friend. “Can I do anything else for you today, sir?” his servant John interrupted. “No, thank you,” Master Buckner smiled. “Servants to attend to your every need!” Harriot teased after John had excused himself from the room. Buckner only laughed.
24 His friend had published an account of their adventures in America after they had returned to England, but both of them now regarded those days as a distant memory. It was almost as if none of it had happened. After all, in the intervening years, no one had attempted to plant another colony in that wild and savage place. They were back, safe and sound in old England and had built new lives for themselves there.
25 Nevertheless, both men knew that England was also a dangerous place. The religious settlement that Queen Elizabeth had imposed on the realm was fraying around the edges, and the plague still threatened London (along with all of the other cities of Europe). As if to underscore that fact, John died of the plague, and the Queen died of old age in 1603.
26 Now these are the generations of John Buckner of England:
27 John begat Hugh and Thomas (the one who went to America in 1585).
28 Hugh was the father of another Thomas.
29 Thomas was the father of John.
30 John was the father of a daughter named Elizabeth.
31 Now Elizabeth married a man named James Williams, and they had a daughter together.
32 They named her Mary Elizabeth, and she married a man named Orlando Jones.
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