Editing Roanoke Colony (section)

===Spanish reconnaissance===
The Spanish Empire had been gathering intelligence on the Roanoke colonies since Grenville's capture of ''Santa Maria de San Vicente'' in 1585. They feared that the English had established a haven for piracy in North America, but were unable to locate such a base.{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|p=60}} They had no cause to assume Lane's colony had been abandoned, or that White's would be placed in the same location.{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|p=88}} Indeed, the Spanish greatly overestimated the success of the English in Virginia; rumors suggested the English had discovered a mountain made of diamonds and a route to the Pacific Ocean.{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|p=95}}

Following a failed reconnaissance mission in 1587, [[Philip II of Spain]] ordered [[Vicente González (governor)|Vicente González]] to search Chesapeake Bay in 1588. González failed to find anything in Chesapeake, but on the way back he chanced to discover Port Ferdinando along the Outer Banks. The port appeared abandoned. González left without conducting a thorough investigation. Although the Spanish believed González had located the secret English base, the defeat of the Spanish Armada prevented Phillip from immediately ordering an attack upon it. In 1590, a plan was reportedly made to destroy the Roanoke colony and set up a Spanish colony in Chesapeake Bay, but this was merely disinformation designed to misdirect English intelligence.{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|pp=95–98}}