The Melungeon Myth

Melungeon Myth of Drake Dropping off Passengers on Roanoke

By Janet Crain

A myth exists on the Internet that the Melungeons, a group of dark skinned
persons of mysterious origins found living in East Tennessee two hundred
years ago descend from Turkish prisoners and sundry other non-English persons
said to have been rescued by Sir Francis Drake during the sacking of Cartagena and
then deserted on Roanoke Island in 1586. In truth, there is NO evidence there
were any left behind there, much less several hundred. This myth was introduced
in a book published in the 1990's by Brent Kennedy titled The Melungeons:
The Resurrection of a Proud People : An Untold Story of Ethnic Cleansing in
America.
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