made with the local Native Americans. The English treated them with suspicious harshness; on several occasions the colonists kidnapped Indians to extort supplies or extract information. Lane's military background led him to rely more upon arms than diplomacy, and that approach soured his dealings with the natives from the start.

April 1586 passed with no news of Grenville. In June, the incident of the stolen cup led to a retaliatory attack against the fort that the settlers