Exploring NC

French Exploration

       The first European to explore NC was Giovanni da Verrazano; he was looking for a new route to the Orient.  In March he sighted land that is near what is now Cape Fear.  He feared running into the Spanish if he went too far south so he traveled 150 miles south then turned north coming to the coast of what is now Onslow County.  A landing party was sent out, but the sea was rough and only one man landed on the island because he was washed ashore.  Verrazano sailed on along the coast and could see over the Outer Banks into the Pamlico and Albemarle sounds.   The main land could not be seen so the sounds were reported as the Pacific Ocean and for a century the Pacific Ocean was just west of NC's outer banks on all maps.  Verrazano continued northward to explore the eastern seaboard of North America going as far as Nova Scotia.

Giovanni de Verrazano

Spanish Exploration

       Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon tried to colonize Chicora, which was a region in-between the Cape Fear and Santee rivers, but failed because the land was not suitable.  The next Spaniard, Hernando de Soto, explored the western region of NC and in May 1540 discovered the Blue Ridge Mountains where they searched for gold. De Soto moved on and crossed the Little Tennessee River, which is near what is now Franklin in Macon County.  No other Spaniards explored NC for half a century; the only ones that came in touch with NC were shipwrecked sailors, priests wishing to set up missions, and others who used the sounds as a safe place before they went back out to sea.  The Spaniard's wish for treasures led Captain Juan Pardo, Sergeant Hernando Boyano, and their band of twenty-five soldiers through the Carolinas.  The same route of de Soto was followed and a fort was built in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  After a stay here while Pardo went east, the Spaniards moved on through present day Macon, Clay, and Cherokee Counties.

Hernando de Soto

English Exploration

         Sir Humphrey Gilbert was granted a patent to explore the new world.  He was told he could govern any colonies created. In June 1583 Gilbert set out with much knowledge of the America's.  The land he found was to harsh for a colony so he headed home but the ship sank.  After Gilbert died on his expedition to colonize the New World his half-brother Sir Walter Raleigh was granted Gilbert’s patent.  Raleigh chose Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe to captain his ships, along with Simon Fernandez as pilot and John White as an artist. On July 13, 1584 the ships arrived at the Outer Banks of NC.  While there, Amadas, Barlowe, and their men met many Native Americans.  The chief of one the tribes they met, the Roanoac Indians, was Wingina. After six weeks of exploring, the Englishmen headed towards home with local crops, maps, water colored drawings, reports of great locations for colonies, and two local Indians, Wanchese and Manteo.  When the men arrived back in England, Queen Elizabeth was pleased with their findings and decided to name the land Virginia, and plans of a second trip were made. For this trip, she supplied them with gunpowder, her ship the Tiger, and Ralph Lane, an extraordinary military man.  The seven ships set out on April 9, 1585 with Richard Grenville leading, Fernandez and Amadas serving again, John White the artist, a amazing scientist Thomas Harriot, and Wanchese and Manteo returning home.  At the northern end of the Roanoke Island in July 1585 a fort was beginning to be built.  Grenville returned to England and Ralph Lane came on land a took control of the 107 men colony.  The colony was separated into three groups.  The first group went to Chesapeake Bay, the second group stayed on the Roanoke Island exploring the Outer Banks, and the third party was lead by Lane westward to search for silver.  Lane believed that Wingina had plans to kill the colonists so on June 1,1585 he and a band of twenty-seven men attacked Wingina tribe.  Wingina ran into the woods for safety, but he was followed by Edward Nugent who chopped off his head.  Lane decided it was time to return to England because of shortage of food, a bad storm, and the trouble with Native Americans.  Grenville returned and discovered, with information from the Native Americans, that Lane and his men had left to return.  To keep the clam of this land as England's Grenville left fifteen of his men.

Sir Walter Raleigh