Ralph Lane Colony

By Blake_P42
  • 1554

    Oxford University

    Lane attended Oxford University in 1554
  • 1560

    English Parliament

    Lane served the English Parliament in the late 1550s and early 1560s
  • 1563

    Queen Elizabeth

    By 1563 Lane was serving in Queen Elizabeth I’s court, marking the beginning of a career of service to queen and country.
  • 1569

    Military force

    Lane participated in a force that suppressed a rebellion in Scotland in 1569 where he gained accolades for his military skill.
  • 1570

    Maritime affairs

    By the early 1570s, Lane had involved himself in maritime affairs which included a queen’s commission to seize ships in 1571.
  • 1580

    Developing plans

    By the late 1570s and early 1580s, he was developing plans and offering his services in helping England struggle with Spain.

  • Ireland

    In 1583, Lane received a commission to go to Ireland and direct the construction of forts.

  • Sail to Virginia

    In 1585 the queen recalled Lane from Ireland and he was given command of the colony that Sir Walter Raleigh was organizing to sail to Virginia (Roanoke Island).

  • left England

    In April 1585, seven ships with about 600 men under the overall command of Sir Richard Grenville left England.

  • Outer Bnaks

    They arrived at the Outer Banks by June

  • Built forts

    By August, the colony had come ashore and built a fort following an invitation from the Indians.

  • The fleet left

    Grenville’s fleet left at the end of August after being unable to secure a good harbor.

  • Colonist going home

    On June 18 or 19, 1586, a fleet led by Sir Francis Drake left Roanoke carrying the first English colonists back home.

  • Thomas Harriot

    He provided the foreword to Thomas Harriot’s Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia (1588)

  • Richard Hakluyt's

    his account of the colony appeared in Richard Hakluyt’s Principal Navigations (1589).

  • ack in Ireland

    Lane was back in Ireland in 1592 serving as “muster master general” and “clerk of the check of the garrison” and remained in that country for the rest of his life.

  • Physical weakness

    By 1601 Lane’s physical weakness had made him unfit as muster master.

  • Lanes death

    Lane died in Dublin, Ireland, in October 1603 and was buried at St. Patrick’s Church on the 28th of that month