Elizabeth II At Dock_01

Title

Elizabeth II At Dock_01

Artist

Greg Reed

Medium

Photograph - Photo

Description

OBX Visitors Guide

The History of the Elizabeth II

The ship, or rather ships, that the Elizabeth II was modeled after are the sailing vessels that were sent to Roanoke Island in 1584 and 1587, respectively. At the time, Tudor-era queen Elizabeth I was trying to keep up with the New World exploration achievements of Spain, which had been sending vessels to and from the Americans for nearly 100 years. Spain had already conquered and settled the South American portions of the New World, so Elizabeth I turned her attention further north, to the modern day United States.

A settlement commandeered by Sir Walter Raleigh was sent to initially set-up a colony in the southern Outer Banks, (near Ocracoke and Hatteras Islands), but after a bout with bad weather and a bit of misdirection, the colonists settled instead on Roanoke Island.

This first settlement had trouble with supplies and local Native American relations, and a second colony was sent just three years later, this time with men, women and children, to try a more permanent settlement that could grow into an established New World colony. Unfortunately, the fate of these travelers went down in the history books, as this "Lost Colony" completely disappeared within several years of landing. Their fate is still argued today, and the story has become the plot of the famed "Lost Colony" outdoor drama which is performed nightly in the summertime just a couple hundred yards away from the Elizabeth II.

Certainly, the daily life of dealing with the Outer Banks elements, building a settlement from scratch, and living next to a growingly hostile community of Native Americans was a hard enough life on its own. But before the colonists even got to the New World, they had to deal with months aboard a heaving 16th century ship with cramped quarters, stale food, and barely livable conditions. Life on the ship was really an introduction to how hard their life on the new mainland was about to be, and the Elizabeth II replica plays an important role in teaching visitors the courage and determination America's first English residents needed in order to survive in an entirely New World.

The Elizabeth II was conceived and built as an integral part of America's 400th Birthday Celebration, and was constructed from the ground up right in Manteo at "The Boathouse," which now serves as the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum in downtown Manteo. Popular since it first laid out the gangplank, the Elizabeth II is still an admired and eye-opening attraction for visitors, and an incredible head-turning sight along the Manteo harbor. With no detail spared from the colors of the Tudor flags to the navigational instruments in the Captain's Quarters, the Elizabeth II is truly a remarkable way for visitors to experience the hardships of the first colonists, while still being able to step off of the ship, and step back into modern times.

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November 17th, 2015

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