Spanish colony collapsed by 1590 leaving only one survivor, site forgotten for 440 years. Colony was abandoned when resupply missions stopped arriving after about 3 years By 1587, English captain Thomas Cavendish found the colony in ruins with only a few surviving Spaniards Cavendish denied pleas for help and left the starving colonists stranded
After just a few years, resupply missions stopped arriving and the colony fell into ruin. By 1587, English captain Thomas Cavendish found only a handful of starving survivors among the ruins and refused to help. By 1590, just one person remained alive. The colony's location was lost to history for 440 years until now.
Key Facts
- Colony was abandoned when resupply missions stopped arriving after about 3 years
- By 1587, English captain Thomas Cavendish found the colony in ruins with only a few surviving Spaniards
- Cavendish denied pleas for help and left the starving colonists stranded
- By 1590, only one survivor remained among the ruins and dead bodies
- After 1590, the colony's location was forgotten and disappeared from colonial maps
- Coordinates drifted and were inaccurately labeled on 1800s maps
- An excursion in the mid-1800s failed to locate the colony
Related site: Famine Pot — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: This Spanish Colony Vanished in 1590... & we finally found it by Luke Caverns