Editing Roanoke Colony (section)

===Spanish attack===
[[Paul Green (playwright)|Paul Green]], while collecting material for a [[The Lost Colony (play)|1937 stage play]], noticed that Spanish records from the period contained abundant references to Raleigh and his settlements.{{Sfn|Betts|1938|pp= 63–64}} Spanish forces knew of English plans to establish a new Virginia base in 1587 and were searching for it before White's colonists had even arrived. The Spanish Empire had included most of North America in their Florida claim and did not recognize England's right to colonize Roanoke or Chesapeake Bay. Given the Spanish sack of [[Fort Caroline]] in 1565, the colonists likely recognized the threat they represented.{{efn|[[The Lost Colony (play)|Green's play]] ends with the colonists leaving Roanoke Island to evade an approaching Spanish ship, leaving the audience to wonder if the Spanish found them.{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|p=353}}}}{{Sfn|Fullam|2017|pp= 33–34}} However, the Spanish were still searching for the colony in Chesapeake Bay as late as 1600, suggesting that they also were unaware of its fate.{{Sfn|Stick|1983|p= 238}}