Early Jamestown and Powhatan

In 1607, a group consisting pale men with facial hair invaded the Virginian shore of Chief Powhatan’s Dominion. These invaders had interesting gadgets, and noisy weapons the Powhatan Leader nor his followers had ever seen. It did not take Powhatan long to realize that these foreign men did not have a very good idea about how to live in this new environment, his environment. Powhatan, experienced in military strategy, could have definitely been more aggressive to his uninvited guests, yet was not. Jamestown started off with many setbacks, and often depended on the Indians to survive. It was an easy target that Powhatan failed to take aim at. The colony had obvious weaknesses, but Powhatan would keep them around. Jamestown could be a helpful ally. If they knew how to act like allies. This paper will hopefully explore how and why Powhatan reacted minimally to the colonists, and also elaborate on Jamestown’s terribly poor condition.

Smith, John. The Generall Historie of Virginia, New England, & the Summer Isles: Together with The True Travels, Adventures and Observations, and A Sea Grammer. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1624. Accessed April 10, 2014. Library of Congress.

This book offers a first hand look at Jamestown, although it was written decades later. Still, it depicts life in the colony from an actual participant. Smith is infamous for his exaggerations, so some of his accounts are taken with a grain of salt.

------ A True Relation of Virginia ed. Charles Deane. Boston: Wiggins and Lunt, 1866. Accessed April 14, 2014. Library of Congress.

Smith wrote this much closer to actual settling of the colony and rings more true in certain accounts (as long as the dramatic fight scenes he depicts himself in are ignored.) It also describes certain incidents in greater detail than in Generall Historie, and by referencing both books a more realistic concept of certain events can be seen.

A Trve Declaration of the Estate of the Colonie in Virginia London: Councill of Virginia, 1610. Accessed April 10, 2014. Library of Congress.

The author is not given, but this piece was published “by advise and direction” of the Virginia Council. It seems it was written to justify the colony’s being, given that Jamestown was not having the best of luck. However it describes certain problems the colony had frequently along with its shortcomings (though the colonists themselves were often blamed for their misfortune). However, this document gives insight to how many Englishman thought, and how righteous their cause was.

SECONDARY

Holmes Williamson, Margaret. Powhatan Lords of Life and Death: Command and Consent in the Seventeenth-Century Virginia Lincoln & London: University of Nebraska Press, 2003

This book gives detailed description into how Powhatan life worked, specifically the lives of Werowances and the Mamanatowick, Powhatan. This reference shows how Powhatan went about doing things, therefore providing more details as to why he made the decisions he did.

Mann, Charles. “America Found and Lost” NationalGeographic.com Last modified May 2007. Accessed April 16, 2014. 

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/05/jamestown/charles-mann-text/1

This source provides summary of Jamestown as well reasoning behind the actions of the Indians and English. It also goes in depth as to how the Jamestown colony eventually prevailed over the Powhatans.

Pomfret, John and Floyd Shumway. “The Founding of Virginia” Founding the American Colonies 1883-1660 ed. Henry Steele Commager and Richard Morris New York: Harper & Row Publishers,1970.

This provides a good general summary of the founding of the colony, mostly dealing with the actions of the colonists and the Virginia Company.

Rountree, Helen C. Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechacanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2005.        

Rountree’s Piece explains how the Powhatan Indians probably saw the English, as well as describe Jamestown’s meager beginnings. I picked this book because it gives insight from the natives’ view and is an excellent, useful narrative.

Whitney Frosch