"Rogue's Harbor" was an insulting nickname assigned to the Albemarle region of the colony of North Carolina by Virginia officials. The nickname, along with other derogatory labels, suggested that the North Carolina colony was inhabited primarily by debtors, pirates, and other criminals-an image that was associated with the colony for years to come.

Reference:

Hugh T. Lefler and Albert Ray Newsome, North Carolina: The History of a Southern State (1954).

Additional Resources:

Connor, R.D.W. North Carolina: rebuilding an ancient commonwealth, 1584-1925 Volume 2. Chicago: American Historical Society. 1929. p. 96.