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The following paragraph from page 96 of The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History 1300-1850, a book by Brian Fagan, is the original source for the summaries and paraphrases in the sentences below:
In 1565, Spanish colonies settled at Santa Elena on the South Carolina coast during an exceptionally dry decade. The settlement struggled from the beginning, then succumbed to a second, even more severe drought in 1587-9. The capital of Spanish Florida was moved to Saint Augustine. The evacuation came as British colonists were trying to establish a settlement at Roanoke Island, North Carolina, to the north. The Roanoke colonists were last seen by their British compatriots on August 22, 1587, at the height of the driest growing season in eight hundred years. Even as their compatriots departed, the colony's native American neighbors were concerned about the poor condition of their crops. The drought persisted for two more years and created a serious food crisis both for the local Croatan people and the colonists. Since the latter were heavily dependent on the Croatan, this very dependence must have aggravated already serious food shortages. Many historians have criticized the Roanoke colony for poor planning and for a seeming indifference to how they were going to feed themselves in the face of apparent disinterest from England. But even the best-planned colony would have been challenged by the 1587-89 drought.
Read each paraphrase or summary below, deciding if it is acceptable or if it could be considered plagiarism. Then click "Acceptable" if the paraphrase or summary is correct; click "Unacceptable" if it is plagiarized.
Fagan suggests that a serious drought--the worst in centuries--contributed to famine for both the colonists on Roanoke Island and the Croatan natives in 1587-89 and probably led to the colonists' demise. While the Roanoke colonists may not have been adequately prepared for survival in the New World, Fagan maintains that the difficult weather conditions would have made failure quite likely for almost any colony in that time and place (96).
According to Fagan, the colonists on Roanoke Island, North Carolina, last seen by their British compatriots on August 22, 1587, probably succumbed to the driest growing season in eight hundred years (96).
A serious drought--the worst in centuries--probably led to the demise of the British colonists on Roanoke Island, North Carolina, in the late 1580s (96).
According to Fagan, the Roanoke colonists were last seen by Europeans on August 22, 1587, in the middle of the driest growing season in eight hundred years. Even as the British departed, the colony's Indian friends were worried about the bad potential for their harvest. The dry conditions lasted for two more years and brought about a serious famine both for the native Croatan people and the Roanoke colonists. The dependence of the British colonists on the Croatan must have exacerbated the severe shortage of provisions. Although many historians have blamed the Roanoke colonists for bad preparation and for an apparent lack of concern over how they would eat, even the best prepared colony would have been threatened by the drought of 1587-89 (96).
According to Fagan, the Roanoke colonists were not entirely to blame for their predicament, which was exacerbated by a severe drought that made food scarce for all people in the area. Any colony trying to establish itself in Roanoke during the 1587-89 drought might have failed (96).
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