Powhatan+Indians

Powhatan Indians

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/colonial/indians/

The Indians living in the area where Jamestown was settled must have had mixed feelings about the arrival of the English in 1607. One of their first reactions was hostility based on their previous experience with Spanish explorers along their coastline. They attacked one of the ships before the English actually landed. Yet the Indians soon began to offer food and traditional Indian hospitality to the newcomers. At first, Powhatan, leader of a confederation of tribes around the Chesapeake Bay, hoped to absorb the newcomers through hospitality and his offerings of food. As the colonists searched for instant wealth, they neglected planting corn and other work necessary to make their colony self-sufficient. They therefore grew more and more dependent on the Indians for food.

As the colony's fortunes deteriorated during its first two years, Captain John Smith's leadership saved the colony. Part of this leadership involved exploring the area and establishing trade with local Indians. Unfortunately for the Indians, Smith believed that the English should treat Indians as the Spanish had: to compel them to "drudgery, work, and slavery," so English colonists could live "like Soldiers upon the fruit of their labor." Thus, when his negotiations with Indians for food occasionally failed, Smith took what he wanted by force.

By 1609, Powhatan realized that the English intended to stay. Moreover, he was disappointed that the English did not return his hospitality nor would they marry Indian women (an affront from the Native perspective). He knew that the English "invade my people, possess my country." Indians thus began attacking settlers, killing their livestock, and burning such crops as they planted. All the while, Powhatan claimed he simply could not control the young men who were committing these acts without his knowledge or permission. Keep in mind, however, that Powhatan's reactions and statements were reported by John Smith, hardly an unbiased observer.

In the next decade, the colonists conducted search and destroy raids on Indian settlements. They burned Indian villages and their corn crops (ironic, in that the English were often starving). Both sides committed atrocities against the other. Powhatan was finally forced into a truce of sorts. Colonists captured Powhatan's favorite daughter, Pocahontas, who soon married John Rolfe. Their marriage did help relations between Indians and colonists.

With the reorganization of the colony under Sir Edwin Sandys, liberal land policies led to dispersion of English settlements along the James River. Increasing cultivation of tobacco required more land (since tobacco wore out the soil in three or four years) and clearing forest areas to make land fit for planting. Expanding English settlements meant more encroachment on Indian lands and somewhat greater contact with Indians. It also left settlers more vulnerable to Indian attack. By this time, the Indians fully realized what continued English presence in Virginia meant--more plantations, the felling of more forests, the killing of more game--in sum, a greater threat to their way of life. The self-proclaimed humanitarian efforts of people like George Thorpe--who sought to convert Indian children to Christianity through education--did not help either. Finally, the deaths of Powhatan and Pocahontas further hastened hostilities.

The Indians, led by Powhatan's brother Opechancanough, bided their time. Pretending friendship, they were waiting for an opportunity to strike the English and dislodge them from Virginia. In early 1622, they struck. In all, nearly 350 colonists were killed; Jamestown itself was saved only by the warning of an Indian Christian convert. One result was an ever-hardening English attitude toward the Indians. Another was bloody reprisals against local Indians.

For additional documents related to these topics, it is probably best to focus on John Smith's Generall Historie of Virginia and Peter Force's collection of tracts. Both these items are in The Capital and the Bay. Another good source of information is the Records of the Virginia Company, in the Thomas Jefferson Papers. In addition to browsing these sources, use the terms found in the documents to the right of the page.

DOCUMENTS:

1. John Smith Appointed to Manage "All Things Abroad," 1607

John Smith was younger than most of the other people listed as counselors for the new colony. Since he had been involved in the English colonization of Ireland, however, he was much more experienced in the arts of war, living off the land, and dealing with peoples whose language he did not know. As a result, he was both resented by other colony leaders and relied upon for "managing all things abroad." According to Smith's account below, what was his approach to dealing with the "salvages"? How does Smith account for the continued difficulties of the colony, despite his efforts to get corn from the Indians?

2. John Smith Captured by the Pamunkey Indians, 1607

The basic story of John Smith and Pocahontas, whether in fiction or history textbooks, is well known; indeed, it became more a legend than history. The fact that Smith failed to write about Pocahontas saving his life before 1624 (when the event actually happened in 1607) led many to believe that the story was actually a fable. Scholars now attribute this omission to the fact that the Virginia Company did not want any "hair-raising" stories about Virginia Indians to become public and possibly dissuade potential colonists from migrating to the colony. What is Smith's story about his captivity? What are Smith's attitudes toward these Indians? To what extent does Wingfield's report support Smith's story?

3. Captain Newport Visits Powhatan, 1607

When Captain Newport returned to Virginia with the first supply for the struggling colony, he thought it necessary to visit Powhatan. How does John Smith describe this meeting? In what sense might the meeting be considered as an exercise in "feeling out the other side"?

4. John Smith Attempts to Suppress the Indians Around Jamestown, 1608

From the beginning of English colonization, keen observers understood the fundamental importance of food supply, marketable staples, and Indian relations to building and sustaining a colony. Indeed, these three issues underlay the entire early history of Jamestown and Virginia. In the following excerpt from Smith's Generall Historie of Virginia, how are the various views of Indian relations in conflict?

5. The "Coronation" of Powhatan, 1608

When Captain Newport returned with the second supply for the Virginia colony, he also brought with him orders to crown Powhatan. In other words, Newport was to make him a "proper King," essentially a vassal subservient to English King James. However, Powhatan was too wily for that to happen. In John Smith's account of the coronation below, what is his attitude toward this affair? What potential damage to the colony does Smith perceive the coronation as causing?

6. John Smith and Powhatan Exchange Views, 1608

The failure of the English and Indians to get along peacefully stemmed, perhaps first and foremost, from the fact that the English were invading the Indians' territory. That aside, one suspects that the failure of relations also stemmed in part from a vast cultural divide between the two peoples. In the following conversations between Powhatan and John Smith (remember that this is reported by Smith), what evidence can you find of a cultural divide between the two leaders? What indications can you find that the two leaders are simply "talking past each other"? Can you find evidence in the document that Smith is reporting Powhatan's views accurately?

7. The Virginia Company's Instructions to Sir Thomas Gates Concerning the Natives, May 1609

The Virginia Company's appointment of Sir Thomas Gates as Governor brought many changes to the colony. In its instructions to Gates, the Company finally stated clearly its policy concerning the Indians. These instructions, as you will see below, were quite detailed. What is the Company's views concerning the Indians? What specific directions does the Company give to Gates in terms of demanding tribute from the Indians, forming treaties with them, trading with them, and defending the colony?

8. Powhatan Takes Advantage of "The Starving Time," 1609-1610

The winter of 1609-1610 became known as "the starving time" in Jamestown. It was probably no accident that the colony reached its low point just after John Smith left the colony. According to the two documents excerpted below, how did Powhatan try to take advantage of Jamestown's desperate situation?

9. Converting Indians to Christianity Justifies English Colonization, 1610

The Virginia Company published A True Declaration of the Estate in Virginia in 1610. This pamphlet was part of a public relations campaign by the Virginia Company to solicit continued support for the Jamestown colony. According to the author, William Barret, what were the primary justifications for the Jamestown colony? How might these justifications affect the Indians living around the colony?

10. Powhatan's Daughter, Pocahontas, Taken Prisoner, 1613

The Virginia colony achieved a more prosperous footing once better relations with the local Indians were achieved. One aspect of those supposedly better relations was built on the kidnapping of Pocahontas, allegedly Powhatan's favorite daughter. According to the following document, what were the circumstances of Pocahontas's capture? What is Powhatan's response to this action? How might the Indians have perceived the kidnapping of Pocahontas and the English attacks on their villages?

11. Pocahontas Marries John Rolfe, 1613

When John Rolfe asked Governor Sir Thomas Dale's permission to marry Pocahontas, he suggested it was "for the good of this plantation, for the honour of our country, for the glory of God, for my own salvation, and for the converting to the true knowledge of God and Jesus Christ, an unbelieving creature, Pokahuntas . . . ." What is John Smith's view of the marriage? What does Smith suggest happened as a result of this marriage?

12. John Rolfe Reports to Edwin Sandys Concerning Indians, 1619

Admittedly, John Rolfe's story concerning negotiations with local natives is somewhat garbled, partly a consequence of his incessant spelling changes. Nevertheless, Rolfe's story is interesting from several points of view. What does Rolfe's story tell us about the general suspicions between the Indians and English? What does his story tell us about trade between the English and Indians? Finally, what does Rolfe's story tell us about colonists who lived among the Indians (as in the case, apparently, of Robert Poole)?

13. George Thorpe and John Pory to Sir Edwin Sandys, May 15, 1621

George Thorpe was charged by the Virginia Company with establishing educational programs for the Indians around Jamestown. Compared to other colonists, his views toward Indians seem sympathetic and enlightened. He was a valuable correspondent of Company Treasurer Sir Edwin Sandys. How does Thorpe describe the majority of colonists' attitudes toward the Indians around Jamestown? How does he judge those attitudes?

14. A Relation of the Barbarous Massacre, 1622

When Powhatan died in 1620, Openchancanough became the primary leader of the alliance of Indian tribes around Jamestown. Although rather cool to the English at first, he was not openly hostile. Openchancanough even agreed, in principle, with George Thorpe to a project in which some Indian families would live among the English and some English families among the Indians. However, Openchancanough had years of experience in dealing with Europeans, and he was just biding his time. On March 22, 1622, he showed the English that he did not share their vision of an integrated community. Even though the following document is written from an English colonist's point of view, what things does the writer (Edward Waterhouse) mention that may have been of concern to the Indians in the region? According to Waterhouse, how did the Indians manage to convince the colonists they had no malicious intent? Why were the Indians unable to completely annihilate the Jamestown colony?

15. How the Massacre Was Good for the Plantation, 1622

Edward Waterhouse reported to the Virginia Company at some length concerning the massacre of 1622. In that latter part of his relation, he argues that the massacre was actually a good thing for the colony. In the excerpt below, what primary reasons does Waterhouse give for claiming that the massacre was a blessing in disguise? What did the massacre change with respect to colonists' views of the Indians? How would William Barret, author of Converting Indians to Christianity, have reacted to Waterhouse's conclusions?

16. A Proposal for Subjugating the Indians, December 15, 1622

Edward Waterhouse (see previous document) was certainly not the only colonist to see opportunity in the 1622 massacre. John Martin, author of the document below, was even more forthright than Waterhouse had been, for he suggested practical strategies for subjugating the Indians in the region. According to the excerpts below, what strategies does he suggest for dealing with the Indians? Given the fact that the Virginia colony was still having trouble feeding itself, how would these strategies have affected the colony itself? How would they have affected the Indians? What were the long-term consequences of the massacre?