It was not to be

[Unregistered]

<He tried to send ships to the stranded little colony across the sea. But it was not to be. >

What is understood after "it was not to be" and what is the meaning and role of "be to infinitive" in "it was not to be" ?

Thanks for reading.

 

[Anglika]

It will not happen.

 

[BobK]

:up: Future. There's a similar "to" in "things to come": We have enough to deal with now; why waste time wondering about what is to come?

b

 

[BobK]

PS
It's occurred to me that the "to" in 'I wasn't to know' [meaning "I couldn't have known in advance"] has a similar sense of 'futureness'.

b