Raleigh’s Discoveries in the New World

The lure of vegetable culture

Introduction

On March 25, 1584, Queen Elizabeth I of England charged Sir Walter Raleigh to

discover, search, find out, and view such remote, heathen and barbarous lands, countries, and territories, not actually possessed of any Christian Prince, nor inhabited by Christian People

— Thorpe 1997

That same year Raleigh sent two captains, Philip Amades and Arthur Barlowe, from England to Hispaniola and the Canary Islands; from there, the captains were instructed to scout the lands northeast of those already claimed by Spain, to wit, Florida. This land — now encompassing the Carolinas and Virginia — was claimed on behalf of England and named Virginia, in honor of the Virgin Queen.

Information processing, especially text markup, was primitive in the colony. For example, most text stores were in XML! Documents may have looked like this:

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Notice the paired Tags: <title> and </title> and the primitive use of indenting. Unusual features of the colonists data processing practices included:

Tags	Meaningful descriptions of the information enclosed by the markers
Balance	All markup is both opened and closed (or explicitly empty)

Securing a Permanent Colony in the Claimed Lands

With land claimed in the New World, an expedition was mounted to establish a settlement. The first expedition failed. Led by Sir Richard Grenville in April 1585, it encompassed 600 men of which 105 remained in the colony while Grenville returned to England for additional provisions. (See Appendix A.) However, when almost a year passed without Grenville’s return, the remainder of the expeditionary force took advantage of Sir Francis Drake’s arrival to seek return passage to England. ^[1]

The second expedition, organized by John White in 1587, fared better. It sailed with seven ships filled with Devon families intent upon establishing a colony in that part of Virginia called Roanoke, a word deriving from the speech of native peoples. [Appendix B] Two years after founding the Cittie of Raleigh, houses had been built for almost all families residing in the colony, and the colony had celebrated the birth of its first children born in the New World. The first child, grandchild of John White and child of Ananias and Eleanor Dare, was been named Virginia in honor of the sovereign.

Native Plants and Wildlife

The European settlers found the New World abundant with commodities known to yield victual and sustenance of man’s life. The first expeditionary force noted that a great variety of berries grew wildly, including raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries. Along with maize, native grain, which could be made into bread, grew in the area. Two other plants — more properly called roots — which could be saved for winter consumption were cassida and chyna. The settlers discovered that while some roots could be eaten much in appearance as they were dug, others had to be boiled before use as a foodstuff. As more fully described below, other plants included beans, and several crops previously unknown to the Europeans:

macocqwer (gourds),
melden (an herb),
planta solis (sunflower — used in a type of bread, as well as for broth),
peas (powdered in a mortar), and
potatoes.

Gourds

The native people grew a variety of large broad-leafed, ground-covering vines which produced what they called macocqwer or gourds. (See Figure 1.) Varying in color among shades of green, yellow, and orange, these gourds served a number of functions, not chief of which was as a food source. There were two distinct types, soft-shelled and hard-shelled. Of particular interest to the settlers were pumpkins; grown throughout the summer, this gourd remained in the fields until late autumn’s frost. Following harvest, the gourd could be stored throughout the winter and its flesh made into stews.

Figure 1: Gourds

While gourds, pumpkins and squashes were new to the English, they were soon discovered to be very useful for warding off starvation.

However, far more important was the hard-skinned gourd. The value of this gourd lay not in its potential as a food source, but rather as a container and serving vessel. Once dried, these gourds were cut and hollowed for use as storage containers, as well as for bowls, ladles, cups, and other types of serving utensils. Indeed, since gourds grew in a variety of shapes and sizes, particular gourds could be selected for their resemblance to the items sought. For the adventurous, the durable objects could be carved and decorated with plant dyes.

Tomatoes

Also new to the colonists was the tomato. (See Figure 2.) Tomatoes were described as thin-skinned succulent fruits with pulpy interiors. Almost Bristol red in color, the fruit was somewhat round in form and the size of a chicken’s egg — not anything approaching the size of modern, cultivated varieties. Of particular importance was the plant’s fecundity. The flowering, bush-like plant bore fruit over a period of months. Thus, a plant could produce as many as 15 tomatoes at a given time.

Figure 2: Tomatoes

Tomatoes were among the new fruits discovered in the New World.

Potatoes

Another root that proved beneficial was the potato. Similarly, to the cassida mentioned earlier, potatoes were considered roots rather than plants, as the edible portion of the plant lay underground. Given the curious nature of this legume, several examples were brought back from the New World. In fact, Raleigh attempted to cultivate the potato at his estate, Youghall, in Ireland.

Fruits and Nuts

The colony abounded with a wealth of fruits and nuts, some not previously known to the Europeans. In addition to mulberries, strawberries, and blueberries already mentioned, one of the more curious fruits found was called medlar by the natives. Medlar was a fruit not unlike cherries in size and color, but with a much sweeter taste. An equally unusual fruit was metaqvesvnnaqvk; notwithstanding its red fruit, that plant’s more important feature lay in the cochinile insects which fed upon its prickly thick leaves ^[2].

Equally abundant in variety and size were nuts. In addition to chestnuts and walnuts, the natives harvested no less than five types of acorns. These somewhat small nuts were either dried in a manner similar to that used in England for malt, or were boiled for broth.

Table I

North American Native Plants

Use	Plant Part	Examples
Vegetables	Seeds	Corn
	Seeds	Beans
	Fruits	Squash
		Peppers
		Tomatoes
	Roots	Potatoes
	Roots	Sweet Potatoes
Teas	Leaves	Mountain Mint (Namewuskons)
	Leaves	Dawn Mint (Wabinowusk)
	Berries	Wintergreen

Appendix A. The First Expeditionary Force’s Colony, 1585-1586 ^[3]

Master Philip Amades, Admirall of the countrie
Master Hariot
Master Acton
Master Edward Stafford
Thomas Luddington
Master Marvyn
Master Gardyner
Captaine Vaughan
Master Kendall
Master Prideox
Robert Holecroft
Rise Courtney
Master Hugh Rogers
Thomas Foxe
Edward Nugent
Darby Glande
Edward Kelle
John Gostigo
Erasmus Clefs
Edward Ketcheman
John Linsey
Thomas Rottenbury
Roger Deane
John Harris
Frauncis Norris
Matthewe Lyne
Edward Kettell
Thomas Wisse
Master Thomas Harvie
Master Snelling
Master Anthony Russe
Master Allyne
Master Michel Polyson
John Cage
Thomas Parre
William Randes
Geffrey Churchman
William Farthowe
John Taylor
Philppe Robyns
Thomas Phillipes
Valentine Beale
James Skinner
George Eseven
John Chaundeler
Philip Blunt
Richard Poore
Robert Yong
Marmaduke Constable
Thomas Hesket
William Wasse
John Fever
Daniel
Thomas Taylor
Richard Humfrey
John Wright
Gabriell North
Robert Biscombe
William Backhouse
William White
Henry Potkin
Dennis Barnes
Joseph Borges
Doughan Gannes
William Tenche
Randall Latham
Thomas Hulme
Walter Myll
Richard Gilbert
Steven Pomarie
John Brocke
Bennet Harrye
James Stevenson
Charles Stevenson
Christopher Lowde
Jeremie Man
James Mason
David Salter
Richard Ireland
Thomas Bookener
William Philippes
Randall Mayne
Bennet Chappell
Richard Sare
James Lasie
Smolkin
Thomas Smart
Robert
John Evans
Roger Large
Humfrey Garden
Frauncis Whitton
Rowland Griffyn
William Millard
John Twyt
Edwarde Seklemore
John Anwike
Christopher Marshall
David Williams
Nicholas Swabber
Edward Chipping
Sylvester Beching
Vincent Cheyne
Haunce Walters
Edward Barecombe
Thomas Skevelabs
William Walters

Appendix B. The Roanoke Colony, 1587 ^[4]

Men
- John White [Governor]
- Roger Bailie [Assistant]
- Ananias Dare [Assistant]
- Christopher Cooper [Assistant]
- Thomas Stevens [Assistant]
- John Sampson [Assistant]
- Dyonis Harvie [Assistant]
- Roger Prat [Assistant]
- George Howe [Assistant]
- Simon Fernando [Assistant]
- William Willes
- John Brooke
- Cutbert White
- John Bright
- Clement Tayler
- William Sole
- John Cotsmur
- Humfrey Newton
- Thomas Colman
- Thomas Gramme
- Nicholas Johnson
- Thomas Warner
- Anthony Cage
- John Jones
- John Tydway
- Ambrose Viccars
- Edmond English
- Thomas Topan
- Henry Berrye
- Richard Berrye
- John Spendlove
- John Hemmington
- Thomas Butler
- Edward Powell
- John Burden
- James Hynde
- Thomas Ellis
- William Browne
- Michael Myllet
- Thomas Smith
- Richard Kemme
- Thomas Harris
- Richard Taverner
- John Earnest
- Henry Johnson
- John Starte
- Richard Darige
- William Lucas
- Arnold Archard
- John Wright
- William Dutton
- Morris Allen
- William Waters
- Richard Arthur
- John Chapman
- William Clement
- Robert Little
- Hugh Tayler
- Richard Wildye
- Lewes Wotton
- Michael Bishop
- Henry Browne
- Marke Bennet
- John Gibbes
- John Stilman
- Robert Wilkinson
- Peter Little
- John Wyles
- Brian Wyles
- George Martyn
- Hugh Pattenson
- Martyn Sutton
- John Farre
- John Bridger
- Griffen Jones
- Richard Shaberdge
- James Lasie
- John Cheven
- Thomas Hewet
- William Berde
- Henry Rufoote
- Richard Tomkins
- Henry Dorrell
- Charles Florrie
- Henry Mylton
- Henry Payne
- Thomas Harris
- William Nicholes
- Thomas Phevens
- John Borden
- Thomas Scot
Women
- Elyoner Dare
- Margery Harvie
- Agnes Wood
- Wenefrid Powell
- Joyce Archard
- Jane Jones
- Elizabeth Glane
- Jane Pierce
- Audry Tappan
- Alis Chapman
- Emme Merrimoth
- Colman
- Margaret Lawrence
- Joan Warren
- Jane Mannering
- Rose Payne
- Elizabeth Viccars
Children
- John Sampson
- Robert Ellis
- Ambrose Viccars
- Thomas Archard
- Thomas Humfrey
- Tomas Smart
- George Howe
- John Prat
- William Wythers
Children Born at the Colony
- Virginia Dare
- Harvye
Native Peoples (who having been in England returned to the colony)
- Manteo
- Towaye

Bibliography

[Thorpe 1997] Thorpe, Francis Newton, ed. Charter to Sir Walter Raleigh: 1584, in The Federal and States Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and Other Organic Laws of the States, Territories, and Colonies Now or Heretofore Forming the United States of America (compiled under Act of Congress of June 30, 1906). [online]. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1909. The Avalon Project. Co-Dir. William C. Fray & Lisa A. Span. © 1997 [cited 8 Apr 1998]. http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/raleigh.htm.

[DeFord 1997] DeFord, Susan. Tobacco: The Noxious Weed That Built a Nation, Special to The Washington Post (May 14, 1997) at H01. [online]. © 1997 [cited 29 May 1998]. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp~srv/intereact/longterm/horizon/051497/tobacco.htm.

[Tobacco] Part 2. The Story of the Arrival and First Uses of Tobacco in Europe, in The History of Tobacco. [online]. [cited 14 Apr 1998]. http://www.tobacco.co.uk/library/history.html#part2.

[Lane] Lane, Ralph. The Colony at Roanoake — 1586. [online]. [cited 13 Apr 1998]. http://www.nationalcenter.inter.net/ColonyofRoanoke.html.

[Prindle 1996a] Prindle, Tara. Indian Corn, excerpted from Teaching about Thanksgiving. [online]. Fourth World Documentation Project. Native American Technology and Art. © 1996 [cited 14 Apr 1998]. http://www.lib.uconn.edu/NativeTech/cornhusk/cornfwdp.html.

[Dickerson 1997] Dickerson, George. Beyond Turkey: Corn Shaped History, Cuisines. [online]. Ed. D’Lyn Ford. New Mexico State University College of Agriculture & Home Economics, 11 Nov 1997 [cited 14 Apr 1998]. http://elroy.nmsu.edu/CAHE/press/corn_history1997.html.

[Borio 1954] Borio, Gene. Smoking in England — Elizabethan, excerpted from Alfred H. Dunhill’s The Gentle Art of Smoking. [online]. Library of Congress catalog card #54-10495 (1954). The Tobacco BBS [cited 20 May 1998]. http://www.tobacco.org/History/Elizabethan_smoking.html.

[Sellement] First English Settlement in the New World. [online]. [cited 13 Apr 1998]. http://hal.dcr.state.nc.us/nc/ncsites/English1.htm#First.

^[1] It has been argued that the first expedition was not a failure. Richard Grenville did return to the colony with additional provisions not long after Drake’s departure, and he ordered 15 men, supposedly supplied for two years, to remain in the colony while he returned for new settlers. However, it is unknown whether these men were present to greet the subsequent expedition.

^[2] In the 16th century, such insects were prized in the making of a vibrant red dye.

^[3] This Appendix contains an actual list of the individuals who sailed to the Roanoke Colony in 1585. (See Durant, David N., Raleigh’s Lost Colony, Appendix I, Atheneum, NY: 1981.)

^[4] This Appendix contains an actual list of the individuals who sailed to the Roanoke Colony in 1587, as well as the names of children born at the colony. (See Durant, David N., Raleigh’s Lost Colony, Appendix I, Atheneum, NY: 1981.)