Roanoke Island has been the scene of historical dramas for more than four centuries, involving Algonquians, Europeans, and African Americans. The Carolina Algonquian were here first, farming the land and fishing the sounds. In 1584, English explorers sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh arrived as part of the first of three voyages in England's attempt to colonize North America. During the American Civil War, the U.S. Army established a freedman's colony here to prepare formerly enslaved people for life after the war. Today, The Lost Colony dramatically interprets the 1580s interactions between the Algonquian and English.