The Harrowing Story Of The Jamestown Massacre, When Hundreds Of Colonists Were Killed By Native Americans
Public Domain The Jamestown Massacre killed hundreds of colonists, and the English soon retaliated.In the early 1620s, the English colony of Jamestown clung to the North American coast, struggling to survive in the New World. That survival was severely threatened in the spring of 1622, when Powhatan warriors launched an attack on Jamestown and smaller surrounding settlements, killing more than 300 colonists in whats known today as the Jamestown Massacre. The attack was a barbarous massacre in the time of peace, according to Edward Waterhouse, secretary for the Virginia Company of London, treacherously executed by the Native Infidels upon the English. Indeed, the attack shattered a fragile peace which had settled between the Native Americans and the colonists, and it led the English to brutally retaliate in the Second Powhatan War, which lasted until 1626.This destroyed any hope for a lasting peace. But for Native Americans, the Jamestown Massacre, also known as the Indian Massacre of 1622, was far from unjustified. Rather, it was a reaction to years of disrespect from the colonists, and an attempt to get them to leave the New World for good. The English Colonies Of VirginiaThe Jamestown Massacre of 1622 took place just 15 years after the first English settlers arrived in present-day Virginia. At first, Chief Powhatan, the leader of the Powhatan Confederacy and the father of Pocahontas, extended the hand of friendship to the colonists. The two groups traded with each other, and Chief Powhatan gave the colonists much needed food supplies.But the English took a different approach. According to the Library of Congress, Captain John Smith argued that the colonists should force the Indigenous people into drudgery, work, and slavery so that the English could live like Soldiers upon the fruit of their labor.Over time, the relationship between the two groups chilled especially as Chief Powhatan realized that the English intended to stay permanently and invade my people, possess my country.Wikimedia CommonsPowhatan led the Powhatan Chiefdom during the early years of English settlement. Native American warriors began targeting English settlements, slaughtering livestock and burning crops. In response, the English also raided and burned Native American villages. The First Powhatan War thus began in 1610, and lasted until 1614, when Powhatans daughter Pocahontas married colonist John Rolfe, after shed been kidnapped by the English. After the conflict ended, however, the English continued to spread throughout Virginia. They took over land for their settlements, and for their growing tobacco fields. Native Americans in the region, including the new Powhatan chief, Opechancanough, increasingly came to believe that the English colonists were a threat to their very existence. And they soon decided to push the English from their land completely by planning the Jamestown Massacre of 1622.Inside The Jamestown Massacre Of 1622On the morning of March 22, 1622, Native Americans arrived in English settlements up and down the James River. At first, it seemed that they had come in peace. Most were known to the colonists, and some werent even carrying weapons. But once they arrived, the Powhatan warriors grabbed whatever weapons they could and attacked.They struck simultaneously at 24 settlements where, according to Encyclopedia Virginia, the colonists had spread most deeply into Indigenous land. Many colonists hardly had time to react, and hundreds were killed. When the day appointed for the massacre had arrived, a number of the savages visited many of our people in their dwellings, Waterhouse later recorded, and while partaking with them of their meal the savages, at a given signal, drew their weapons and fell upon us murdering and killing everybody they could reach sparing neither women nor children.Public DomainA depiction of the Indian Massacre of 1622, which killed more than 300 English colonists along the James River.He added: Simply killing our people did not satisfy their inhuman nature, they dragged the dead bodies all over the country, tearing them limb from limb, and carrying the pieces in triumph around.But while colonists at small settlements along the river, including Martins Hundred, Wolstenholme Towne, and Henricus, were devastated by the attack, Jamestown escaped almost unscathed. After receiving a warning of the spreading violence, the colony was able to prepare a defense. Despite this, by the time the Powhatans retreated, at least 347 colonists out of a population of 1,250 had been killed.The Aftermath Of The Jamestown MassacreAfter the Jamestown Massacre of 1622, the Powhatans could have struck hard at Jamestown. Instead, they withdrew. They believed that their message to the colonists had been clearly sent: go back home. But the English had heard a very different message. As Waterhouse saw it, the Indigenous people wanted to destroy us, and, so, their massacre provided the colonists a reason to strike back. Our hands which before were tied with gentlenesse and fair usage, are now set at liberty, Waterhouse declared. [We] may now by right of War, and law of Nations, invade their Country. Wikimedia CommonsBy the end of the end of the Second Powhatan War, Virginia Colony had established a permanent foothold. First, the English colonists gathered their strength. They reconvened at Jamestown and other more secure locations, built up their food supplies, and made alliances with distant tribes. As John Smith later wrote, the colonists sought no revenge till thier corne was ripe.Then, the English struck. The Second Powhatan War, started by the Indian Massacre of 1622, quickly grew in scope. Not only did the colonists raid Indigenous villages and destroy the Powhatan food supply, but they also used other means to gain an advantage, including poisoning the wine of Powhatan chiefs during a truce. The war lasted until 1626, when the colonists claimed victory. And despite other wars that followed, including the Pequot War (1636-1638), the Third Powhatan War (1644-1646), and King Philips War (1675-1678), the presence of the English colonists in the New World only continued to grow.Indeed, by 1632, the English population in Virginia had surged to nearly 8,000. Any chance of pushing the English out had passed. After reading about the Indian Massacre of 1622, also known as the Jamestown Massacre, go inside the mystery of the English colony at Roanoke, which vanished in 1590 without a trace. Or, look through these stunning colorized photos of Native Americans from a century ago. The post The Harrowing Story Of The Jamestown Massacre, When Hundreds Of Colonists Were Killed By Native Americans appeared first on All That's Interesting.
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