John Lawson (explorer)

He traveled nearly 600 miles through the wilderness, ending his journey near the mouth of the Pamlico River in what was later designated as North Carolina.

Lawson played a major role in the founding of two of North Carolina's earliest permanent European settlements: Bath and New Bern.

In 1709, Lawson returned to London to oversee the publication of his book, A New Voyage to Carolina, in which he described the native inhabitants and the natural environment of the region.

He also organized a group of Germans from the Electorate of the Palatinate to settle in Carolina, returning with them in 1710 to found New Bern on the Neuse River.

Nearly 3000 Palatine Germans were settled in the New York Colony in 1710 as well, and worked in naval stores camps on the Hudson River to pay off their transportation.

In September 1711, Lawson and his associate Christoph von Graffenried, 1st Baron of Bernberg were captured by Tuscarora natives while ascending the Neuse River.

The Tuscarora released von Graffenried, but they subjected Lawson to ritual torture, typical of warriors, and killed him.

The colonists gathered their own American Indian allies, especially from among the Yamasee and Cherokee, traditional enemies and competitors of the Tuscarora.