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222 the Antecedents of the Virginia Massacre of 1622: an Aide 222 The Antecedents of the Virginia Massacre of 1622: An Aide-mémoire Philip L. Barbour Ridgefield, Connecticut The objective of this aide-mémoire is statistical rather than literary . It is an atternpt to take stock of recorded acts of hostility between the Indians and the colonists in Virginia during the first fifteen years in order to provide a factual basis for future studies of Anglo-Indian relations in the early colonial period. A number of surnrnaries of the record, along with deductions therefrom , have already been published . Let us see if the full record (barring a few possible oversights) will bear out any already published theory. Prologue Whiternen were not unknown in Virg inia before the arriva! of the first permanent colonists . About 1559-1560 a Spanish reconnaissance expedition entered Chesapeake Bay, and a brother of the local chieftain sornehow "joined" the Spaniards and sailed with them to Mexico (Barbour 1970). After various adventures , this Indian returned and was involved in destroying an atternpted Jesuit settlernent in 1570. The later overlord of that region, Powhatan , was then about 25 years old. He may have been a party to this (Barbour 1976; Quinn 1955 ) . Then in the 1580's the first English colonial venture in that neighbourhood arrived , was reinforced , survived briefly, and expired . Powhatan hirnself may have struck the final blow. Other whiternen ' s ships prowled these waters between 1590 and 1607, notably one that visited the Rappahannock River not too long before the latter year , and unquestionably troubled Powhatan . By then, his empire was all but complete, and stretched from the hills opposite Washington, D. C. , to the Great Disrnal Swamp on the Virginia-North Carolina boundary. But even as he consolidated his power, sorne "unforeseeable Thing " presaged great ill for Powhatan (Barbour 1970) . The curtain lifts on the tragic drarna. Calendar of events First Period . 1607 . April 26: The first colonists arrived at Cape Henry. Unprovoked attack by Chesapeake Indians; 2 whiternen injured (Percy 1969). April 30 : Colonists "welcorned " at Old Point Cornfort . May 8 : Appornatoc chief bids the colonists be gone . May 13 : Jarnestown founded in Paspahegh hunting-grounds . May 14 : Paspahegh spies seen . Alarrn . May 18: Paspahegh chief visited Jarnestown with lOO warriors . Altercation , but no casualties . May 23 : Exploring party entertained at Powhatan village. (Percy 1 608 ; Archer 1607) . May 24 : Party sets up cross, irritating local chief . May 26 : While Parnunkey chief entertains. party, Paspahegh chief attacks Jarnestown; 2 English killed . Published in : Papers of the 8th Algonquian Conference (1977) 223 May 29: Jamestown again assaulted; no damage. May 31: Colonist Clovell shot; he died June 8. June 1: A score of Indians came shooting; no damage. June 4: Three Indians shot at a colonist; no damage. June 8: Two Indians came crying "wingapo"; sentry fired at them and they fled. June 13: Eight Indians shot Fitch, but he survived. June 14: Two unarmed Indians came with advice. June 16: Two others tried to capture Captain Newport. June 21: Opechancanough, Powhatan's brother, sent a message of peace. June 22: Newport sailed for England with two ships. June 25: Powhatan sent a message of peace. July 3: Opechancanough sent a deer, and asked about the missing ships. July 7 (or 27?): Quiyoughcohannock chief came with words of peace, and asked about ships (Percy 1608; Wingate 1608). July 27: Sickness broke out in Jamestown. August 10: Bruster died of an arrow-wound. August 14: Alicock, the same. September 10: Nearly half the colonists dead. December 8(?)-31: Trading voyages led to John Smith's capture, and presentation to Powhatan; Pocahontas "saves" his life (Smith 1884). Second Period. 1608. January 2: Smith returns safely to Jamestown; Newport arrives with fresh colonists the same evening (Barbour 1969). January 7: Jamestown burned. Powhatan starts sending venison, bread, etc. for trade. End of February and early March: Newport visits Powhatan; beginning of friendly period, while Powhatan considers how to get the colonists to leave his realm. April 10: Newport sailed again for England. About this time trouble developed with Indians bent on acquiring swords, and with unruly colonists. Imprisonments, but no casualties. April 20: Nelson's supply ship arrived; sailed June 2 (Smith 1884). June 2 to September 7: Smith exploring Chesapeake Bay and various rivers. June 16: Beginning of several encounters up Potomac River, but the colonists "lost not a man;" Indian casualties not known. July 20: Beginning of encounters with Indians north of Potomac River; no casualties to colonists, but "some [Indians] slaine", in "wrangling" with the Toppahannocks, a "peevish nation." September 6(?): Returning to Jamestown, Smith stopped to explore Nansemond River and was ambushed; a sharp skirmish followed, with no known casualties (Smith 1884). September 7: Smith and his party reached Jamestown (note that there are no Jamestown records, June-September); "many dead" reported, but cause not specified. September 10: Smith elected President of the Council. Late September: Newport arrived with "arm-chair" orders from London Council, more colonists, and inadequate supplies. Powhatan was crowned with unhappy results, a gold- or iron- seeking expedition left 89 (of 200) "lame and sicke," and discontenPublishedt spread in : Papers. Smit of theh 8threplenishe Algonquian Conferenced colony stor(1977)e by force, but without reported casualties on either side. 224 Late December: Newport returned to England (Smith 1884). December 29: Smith takes the pinnace and barge to Werowocomoco for a show-down with Powhatan over food and safety; enter­ tained and fed by Indians on the way. 1609. January 12: Smith arrived at Werowocomoco. A day or two later, Powhatan said to him (sighing): "none doth denie to laie at my feet (or do) what I desire, but only you, . you will have whatsoever you demand." The sigh and the admission speak volumes. ca. January 14: Powhatan retreated into the forest. A few days later Smith arrived at Opechancanough's residence, a few miles upstream. After lengthy bickering, Smith, incensed over the delay, challenged the chief to a person-to-person encounter. The chief yielded, and barter resumed. After January 22: "Some Salvages" attempted to murder Smith in his sleep, and not long after an attempt was made to poison him--without success. ca. February 8: Smith's expedition returned to Jamestown. Soon thereafter Smith issued an edict, "that he that will not worke shall not eate" (Smith 1884). March: Dutch workmen sent to build a house for Powhatan began stirring up serious trouble. Smith had an encounter with the Paspahegh chief, who was taken prisoner. Further minor troubles with Indians; Smith reported "there died not past 7 or 8" since September 10. Later another, more general, brawl, but "we heard of no hurt" (Smith); and still later an Indian blew himself up along with one or two more, experi­ menting with gunpowder. July 13: Samuel Argall arrived on a test voyage by a shorter route, but also brought supplies. By then the Indians obviously became aware of the moral poison that afflicted the colonists (Smith 1884) . August 11: Four of the nine ships that had sailed from England under Sir Thomas Gates arrived in James River, after a storm-tossed voyage during which Gates and the flagship were wrecked on Bermuda. Two more arrived shortly, and a third much later (Barbour 1969). Smith's ancient foes immediately set up a counter-government, pending the expiration of Smith's term of office. Gates, the newly appointed Governor, seemed to be lost. August 31: Argall sailed for England, bearing word of the colony's problems. Mutiny against Smith developed so far that he resigned the presidency to Captain John Martin, who gave it back three hours later. ca. September 1-10: Francis West, Lord De La Warr's brother, took 120 colonists to settle near Powhatan village, at the Falls, seizing the chieftain. The Indians, finding him weak and nervous, attacked, killed many of his men, freed the chief, and carried 1000 bushels of corn away. Despite rein­ forcements sent by Smith, West started back to Jamestown, but Smith met him and led him back. There Smith paid the chief for the site, and arranged for a permanent English fort. West's mismanagement was such, however, that the Indians attacked him the moment Smith sailed away and killed many. PublishedSmith returnedin : Papers, of attemptethe 8th Algonquiand to Conferenceput matters straight(1977) , and once more sailed for Jamestown. On his way he was accidentally burned by gunpowder, and incapacitated (Smith 1884) . 225 ca. September 10: Smith relinquished the presidency at Jamestown, and planned to return to England, but was accused of misconduct and brought to some sort of trial. October 4: Captain Sicklemore, alias Ratcliffe, wrote to Lord Salisbury that Smith was being sent home and that George Percy was elected President. Smith reached London before or on November 30. Third Period. ca. October 18: Percy sent some colonists to Old Point Comfort (Percy 1922) to try to live off fish, and Captain John Martin, the original colonist, gave up an attempt to start a colony on the Nansemond River. Mutiny promptly broke out in the latter, and Indians attacked, 17 men vanished forever into the forest, and the rest were killed. October-December: The fort at Powhatan village was abandoned. Percy decided that the colony would starve before supplies could arrive from London, and sent Sicklemore/Ratcliffe to Powhatan to bargain. Due to lack of discipline, the Indians were able to wipe out the expedition (some 30 men) except for one boy. Sicklemore/Ratcliffe was tortured to death. Percy then dispatched Francis West to the Potomac to trade, but West sailed straight back to England as soon as he had got enough food for the voyage.
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