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[[Image:Ch2Opechancanough.jpg|thumb|A 1585 painting of a [[Chesapeake Bay]] warrior by [[John White (colonist and artist)|John White]]; this painting was adapted to represent Opechancanough in the engraving above.]] |
[[Image:Ch2Opechancanough.jpg|thumb|A 1585 painting of a [[Chesapeake Bay]] warrior by [[John White (colonist and artist)|John White]]; this painting was adapted to represent Opechancanough in the engraving above.]] |
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'''Opechancanough''' ({{IPAc-en|oʊ|p|ə|ˈ|tʃ|æ|n|k|ə|n|oʊ}}; 1554–1646)<ref name="ReferenceA"> |
'''Opechancanough''' ({{IPAc-en|oʊ|p|ə|ˈ|tʃ|æ|n|k|ə|n|oʊ}} {{respell|oh|pə|CHAN|kə|noh}}; 1554–1646)<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book|last=Rountree|first=Helen C.|title=Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown|publisher=University of Virginia Press: Charlottesville|year=2006|isbn=9780813925967|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pocahontas_Powhatan_Opechancanough/BBwW1tA4zBsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PR4&printsec=frontcover}}</ref> was [[paramount chief]] of the [[Tsenacommacah|Powhatan Confederacy]] in present-day [[Virginia]] from 1618 until his death. He had been a leader in the confederacy formed by his older brother [[Powhatan (Native American leader)|Powhatan]], from whom he inherited the paramountcy. |
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Opechancanough led the Powhatan in the second and third [[Anglo-Powhatan Wars]], including the [[Indian massacre of 1622]]. |
Opechancanough led the Powhatan in the second and third [[Anglo-Powhatan Wars]], including the [[Indian massacre of 1622]]. |
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In 1646, the aged Opechancanough was captured by [[British colonization of the Americas|English colonists]] and taken to [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]], where he was killed by a settler assigned to guard him. |
In 1646, the aged Opechancanough was captured by [[British colonization of the Americas|English colonists]] and taken to [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]], where he was killed by a settler assigned to guard him. |
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== Name == |
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== Name (This is not a reliable source, this article has been tampered and messed with.. please be careful.) == |
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The name Opechancanough meant "He whose Soul is White" in the [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]] [[Powhatan language]].<ref>John M. Murrin, et al. ''Liberty Equality Power: A History of the American People, Volume I: To 1877,'' third edition (Florence, Kentucky: Wadsworth-Thomson Learning, 1996, 2002), pp. 36-37.)</ref> |
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It was likely derived from a Powhatan original phonemically spelled as /a·pečehčakeno·w/ < ''a·pe'' "white" + ''čehčak'' "soul" + -''en'' "inanimate verb ending" + ''-o·w'' "3rd person transitive inanimate subject".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Siebert Jr.|first=Frank T.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qx4mAQAAMAAJ|title=Studies in Southeastern Indian Languages|date=1975|publisher=University of Georgia Press|isbn=978-0-8203-0334-5|pages=295 (phonology); passim (lexicon)|language=en|chapter=Resurrecting Virginia Algonquian from the Dead}}</ref> This would have the reconstructed pronunciation {{IPA|[ɔpət͡ʃəht͡ʃakənoːw]}} or perhaps {{IPA|[ɔpət͡ʃãkə̃noːw]}} with [[Nasalization|nasal spreading]] and [[haplology]]. |
It was likely derived from a Powhatan original phonemically spelled as /a·pečehčakeno·w/ < ''a·pe'' "white" + ''čehčak'' "soul" + -''en'' "inanimate verb ending" + ''-o·w'' "3rd person transitive inanimate subject".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Siebert Jr.|first=Frank T.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qx4mAQAAMAAJ|title=Studies in Southeastern Indian Languages|date=1975|publisher=University of Georgia Press|isbn=978-0-8203-0334-5|pages=295 (phonology); passim (lexicon)|language=en|chapter=Resurrecting Virginia Algonquian from the Dead}}</ref> This would have the reconstructed pronunciation {{IPA|[ɔpət͡ʃəht͡ʃakənoːw]}} or perhaps {{IPA|[ɔpət͡ʃãkə̃noːw]}} with [[Nasalization|nasal spreading]] and [[haplology]]. |
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==Powhatan warrior== |
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Many historians thought that Opechancanough's name came from another prince of a well known Nation. Opechancanough was Native American. |
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| ⚫ | The Powhatan Confederacy was established in the late 16th and early 17th centuries under the leadership of Chief Wahunsonacock (more commonly known as Chief Powhatan, named for the tribe he originally led, which was based near present-day [[Richmond, Virginia]]). Over a period of years, through negotiation and/or coercion, Chief Powhatan united more than 31 of the [[Virginia Indian]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indians.vipnet.org/resources/writersGuide.pdf|title=Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224023658/http://indians.vipnet.org/resources/writersGuide.pdf |archive-date=2012-02-24 }}</ref> tribal groups in the [[Tidewater region of Virginia|Tidewater region]] of what is now the [[Commonwealth of Virginia]], essentially the southeastern portion of the modern state.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} |
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==Powhatan warrior (The reason you shouldn't trust wikipedia is because anyone can edit a post. I didnt even make this post and i am writing on it..== |
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| ⚫ | The Powhatan Confederacy was established in the late 16th and early 17th centuries under the leadership of Chief Wahunsonacock ( |
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At the time of the English settlement at [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]], which was established in May 1607, Opechancanough was a much-feared warrior and a charismatic leader of the Powhatans. As Chief Powhatan's younger brother (or possibly half-brother), he headed a tribe situated along the [[Pamunkey River]] near the present-day [[West Point, Virginia|town of West Point]].{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} |
At the time of the English settlement at [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]], which was established in May 1607, Opechancanough was a much-feared warrior and a charismatic leader of the Powhatans. As Chief Powhatan's younger brother (or possibly half-brother), he headed a tribe situated along the [[Pamunkey River]] near the present-day [[West Point, Virginia|town of West Point]].{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} |
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Known to be strongly opposed to |
Known to be strongly opposed to European settlers, he captured [[John Smith (explorer)|Captain John Smith]] along the [[Chickahominy River]] and brought him before Chief Powhatan at [[Werowocomoco]], one of the Powhatans' two capital villages. Located along the northern shore of the present-day [[York River (Virginia)|York River]], Werowocomoco is thought to be where Powhatan's young daughter Matoaka (known as [[Pocahontas]] to historians) intervened on Smith's behalf during a ceremony, based upon Smith's account.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} |
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Written accounts by other colonists confirm that Pocahontas |
Written accounts by other colonists confirm that Pocahontas later served as an intermediary between the natives and the colonists, and helped deliver crucial food during the winter of 1607–08, when the colonists' fort at [[Jamestown Island]] burned in an accidental fire in January.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} |
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The marriage of Pocahontas and colonist [[John Rolfe]] in April 1614 brought a period of peace; this ended not long after her death while on a trip to England and the death of her father, Wahunsonacock, in 1618. A short time later, after a brief succession of the chiefdom by his older brother Opitchapam (during which Opechancanough was war chief), Opechancanough became [[paramount chief]] of the Powhatan Confederacy.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} |
The marriage of Pocahontas and colonist [[John Rolfe]] in April 1614 brought a period of peace; this ended not long after her death while on a trip to England and the death of her father, Wahunsonacock, in 1618. A short time later, after a brief succession of the chiefdom by his older brother Opitchapam (during which Opechancanough was war chief), Opechancanough became [[paramount chief]] of the Powhatan Confederacy.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} |
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==Powhatan chief== |
==Powhatan chief== |
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The natives and the colonists came into increasingly irreconcilable |
The natives and the colonists came into increasingly irreconcilable conflict as [[tobacco]] (which had been first developed by Rolfe) became the colony's [[cash crop]]. The relationship became even more strained as ever-increasing numbers of Europeans arrived and began establishing "[[Hundred (county division)|hundreds]]" and [[plantations in the American South|plantation]]s along the navigable rivers. |
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Beginning with the [[Indian massacre of 1622]], in which his forces killed many settlers, Chief Opechancanough abandoned |
Beginning with the [[Indian massacre of 1622]], in which his forces killed many settlers, Chief Opechancanough abandoned diplomacy with the English colonists as a means of settling conflicts and tried to force them to abandon the region altogether. On March 22, 1622, approximately a third of the settlers in Virginia were killed by Powhatan forces during a series of coordinated attacks along both shores of the [[James River (Virginia)|James River]], extending from [[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News Point]], near the mouth of the river, to [[Falling Creek (James River tributary)|Falling Creek]], near the [[Atlantic Seaboard fall line|Fall Line]] at the head of navigation. But the colony eventually rebounded, and colonists later killed hundreds of natives in retaliation, including many warriors poisoned by Dr. [[John Pott]] at Jamestown. |
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Chief Opechancanough launched a last major effort to expel the colonists on April 18, 1644, the third [[Anglo-Powhatan Wars#Third Anglo-Powhatan War|Anglo-Powhatan War]].<ref name="TuckerArnold2011">{{cite book|author1=Spencer C. Tucker|author2=James R. Arnold|author3=Roberta Wiener|title=The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Wars, 1607–1890: A Political, Social, and Military History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JsM4A0GSO34C|access-date=30 March 2013|date=30 September 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-697-8|pages=18–19}}</ref> In 1646, forces under Royal Governor [[William Berkeley (governor)|William Berkeley]] captured Opechancanough, at the time believed to be between 90 and 100 years old.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> They paraded him as a prisoner through Jamestown before a jeering crowd |
Chief Opechancanough launched a last major effort to expel the colonists on April 18, 1644, the third [[Anglo-Powhatan Wars#Third Anglo-Powhatan War|Anglo-Powhatan War]].<ref name="TuckerArnold2011">{{cite book|author1=Spencer C. Tucker|author2=James R. Arnold|author3=Roberta Wiener|title=The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Wars, 1607–1890: A Political, Social, and Military History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JsM4A0GSO34C|access-date=30 March 2013|date=30 September 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-697-8|pages=18–19}}</ref> In 1646, forces under Royal Governor [[William Berkeley (governor)|William Berkeley]] captured Opechancanough, at the time believed to be between 90 and 100 years old.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> They paraded him as a prisoner through Jamestown before a jeering crowd, and he was subsequently killed by a settler who shot him in the back while assigned to guard him.<ref name="UtleyWashburn1985">{{cite book|author1=Robert Marshall Utley|author2=Wilcomb E. Washburn|title=Indian Wars|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cc3l29gVaHkC|access-date=30 March 2013|year=1985|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=978-0-618-15464-7|page=20}}</ref> Before dying, Opechancanough reportedly said, "If it had been my fortune to take Sir William Berkeley prisoner, I would not have meanly exposed him as a show to my people."<ref name="Waldman2009">{{cite book|author=Carl Waldman|title=Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WxomdGVLjZ0C|access-date=2 April 2013|date=1 January 2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-1010-3|page=237}}</ref> |
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He was succeeded as [[Weroance]] first by [[Nectowance]], then by [[Totopotomoi]], then by [[Cockacoeske]], Totopotomoi's wife who is believed to be Opechancanough's daughter or granddaughter. |
He was succeeded as [[Weroance]] first by [[Nectowance]], then by [[Totopotomoi]], then by [[Cockacoeske]], Totopotomoi's wife, who is believed to be Opechancanough's daughter or granddaughter. |
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==Connection with Don Luis== |
==Connection with Don Luis== |
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{{main|Don Luis}} |
{{main|Don Luis}} |
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Historians, including [[Carl Bridenbaugh]],<ref>John M. Murrin, et al. ''Liberty Equality Power: A History of the American People, Volume I: To 1877,'' third edition (Florence, Kentucky: Wadsworth-Thomson Learning, 1996, 2002), pp.36-37</ref> have speculated that Opechancanough was the same Native American youth who was a chief's son and is known to have been transported voluntarily from the village of [[Kiskiack]], Virginia, to Spain in the 16th century at the age of 17 and educated. He became known as Don Luis.<ref name="Jamestown, Williamsburg, Yorktown: The Official Guide to America's Historic Triangle">{{cite book|title=Jamestown, Williamsburg, Yorktown: The Official Guide to America's Historic Triangle|url=https://archive.org/details/jamestownwilliam0000unse|url-access=registration|access-date=30 March 2013|date=28 February 2007|publisher=John F. Blair, Publisher|isbn=978-0-87935-230-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/jamestownwilliam0000unse/page/122 122]–123}}</ref> Murrin, however, suggests that Opechancanough was more likely |
Historians, including [[Carl Bridenbaugh]],<ref>John M. Murrin, et al. ''Liberty Equality Power: A History of the American People, Volume I: To 1877,'' third edition (Florence, Kentucky: Wadsworth-Thomson Learning, 1996, 2002), pp.36-37</ref> have speculated that Opechancanough was the same Native American youth who was a chief's son and is known to have been transported voluntarily from the village of [[Kiskiack]], Virginia, to Spain in the 16th century at the age of 17 and educated. He became known as Don Luis.<ref name="Jamestown, Williamsburg, Yorktown: The Official Guide to America's Historic Triangle">{{cite book|title=Jamestown, Williamsburg, Yorktown: The Official Guide to America's Historic Triangle|url=https://archive.org/details/jamestownwilliam0000unse|url-access=registration|access-date=30 March 2013|date=28 February 2007|publisher=John F. Blair, Publisher|isbn=978-0-87935-230-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/jamestownwilliam0000unse/page/122 122]–123}}</ref> Murrin, however, suggests that Opechancanough was more likely Don Luis's nephew or cousin.<ref name="Jamestown, Williamsburg, Yorktown: The Official Guide to America's Historic Triangle"/> |
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Rechristened as "Don Luis", the young man returned to his homeland in what is now the [[Virginia Peninsula]] subregion of the [[Hampton Roads]] region of [[Virginia]], where [[Jesuit]] priests established |
Rechristened as "Don Luis", the young man returned to his homeland in what is now the [[Virginia Peninsula]] subregion of the [[Hampton Roads]] region of [[Virginia]], where [[Jesuit]] priests established [[Ajacán Mission]] in September 1570. Shortly thereafter, Don Luis is believed to have returned to live with the Powhatan and turned against the Europeans. He and his allies killed the Jesuits at the mission in the winter of 1571, ending Spanish efforts to colonize the area. |
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Other historians speculate that Don Luis may have become the father of Powhatan chiefs Wahunsunacock and Opechancanough.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Their remains are buried on the [[Pamunkey Indian Reservation]] in [[King William, Virginia]]. |
Other historians speculate that Don Luis may have become the father of Powhatan chiefs Wahunsunacock and Opechancanough.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Their remains are buried on the [[Pamunkey Indian Reservation]] in [[King William, Virginia]]. |
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==Representations== |
==Representations== |
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*Opechancanough was portrayed by [[Stuart Randall (actor)|Stuart Randall]] in the 1953 low-budget film ''[[Captain John Smith and Pocahontas]]''. |
*Opechancanough was portrayed by [[Stuart Randall (actor)|Stuart Randall]] in the 1953 low-budget film ''[[Captain John Smith and Pocahontas]]''. The film shortened his name to ''Opechanco''. |
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*He appeared as a figure in the ''[[Animated Hero Classics]]'' 1994 episode "Pocahontas," and was voiced by Lorenzo Gonzalez, but is entirely absent in Disney's 1995 animated film ''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]'' as well as its 1998 direct-to-video sequel ''[[Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World]]''. |
*He appeared as a figure in the ''[[Animated Hero Classics]]'' 1994 episode "Pocahontas," and was voiced by Lorenzo Gonzalez, but is entirely absent in Disney's 1995 animated film ''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]'' as well as its 1998 direct-to-video sequel ''[[Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World]]''. |
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*Opechancanough is portrayed in |
*Opechancanough is portrayed by [[Wes Studi]] in [[Terrence Malick]]'s 2005 film ''[[The New World (2005 film)|The New World]]''. In this live-action film, he is conflated with [[Tomocomo]], a priest who accompanied Pocahontas/Rebecca to London. |
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* |
*In the Sky TV show [[Jamestown (TV series)|Jamestown]], he is played by Raoul Max Trujillo. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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{{s-start}} |
{{s-start}} |
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{{succession box| before=[[Chief Powhatan]]| title=[[Weroance]]|after=[[Necotowance]]| years=1618–1646}} |
{{succession box| before=[[Chief Powhatan]]| title=[[Weroance]] of the [[Powhatan Confederacy]]|after=[[Necotowance]]| years=1618–1646}} |
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{{s-end}} |
{{s-end}} |
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==Further reading== |
==Further reading== |
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{{Library resources box|by=no|onlinebooks=yes|viaf=60942264}} |
{{Library resources box|by=no|onlinebooks=yes|viaf=60942264}} |
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*James Horn, ''A Brave and Cunning Prince: The Great Chief Opechancanough'', 2021. |
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*W. Martha W. McCartney, ''Cockacoeske, Queen of Pamunkey: Diplomat and Suzeraine.'' |
*W. Martha W. McCartney, ''Cockacoeske, Queen of Pamunkey: Diplomat and Suzeraine.'' |
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*David A. Price, ''Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of A New Nation'', Alfred A. Knopf, 2003 |
*David A. Price, ''Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of A New Nation'', Alfred A. Knopf, 2003 |
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*Helen C. Rountree, ''The Powhatan Indians of Virginia: Their Traditional Culture.'' University of Oklahoma Press, 1989. |
*Helen C. Rountree, ''The Powhatan Indians of Virginia: Their Traditional Culture.'' University of Oklahoma Press, 1989. |
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*Peter H. Wood, ''Powhatan's Mantle: Indians in the Colonial Southeast'' |
*Peter H. Wood, ''Powhatan's Mantle: Indians in the Colonial Southeast'' |
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==External links== |
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*[http://www.jamestown2007.org Jamestown 2007] |
*[http://www.jamestown2007.org Jamestown 2007] |
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*[http://www.virginiaplaces.org/nativeamerican/anglopowhatan.html The Anglo-Powhatan Wars] |
*[http://www.virginiaplaces.org/nativeamerican/anglopowhatan.html The Anglo-Powhatan Wars] |
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*{{find a Grave|101794591}}'''''''Italic text'''' |
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{{Jamestown Colony}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
{{Authority control}} |
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[[Category:1554 births]] |
[[Category:1554 births]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:1646 deaths]] |
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[[Category:Murdered Native American people]] |
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[[Category:Native American leaders]] |
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[[Category:People of the Powhatan Confederacy]] |
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[[Category:17th-century Native American leaders]] |
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[[Category:People murdered in Virginia]] |
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[[Category:People from colonial Virginia]] |
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[[Category:Tribal chiefs]] |
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[[Category:Pamunkey people]] |
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[[Category:Murder in 1646]] |
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[[Category:Murder in the Thirteen Colonies]] |
[[Category:Murder in the Thirteen Colonies]] |
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Revision as of 00:07, 5 August 2024
Opechancanough | |
|---|---|
 'John Smith taking the King of Pamunkey prisoner', a fanciful image of Opechancanough from Smith's General History of Virginia (1624). The image of Opechancanough is based on a 1585 painting of another native warrior by John White[1] (see below) | |
| Paramount chief of the Powhatan Confederacy | |
| Preceded by | Opitchipam |
| Succeeded by | Necotowance |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1554 |
| Died | 1646 (aged 92) Jamestown, Colony of Virginia, British America |
| Cause of death | Shot in the back while a prisoner |
| Resting place | Pamunkey Reservation, King William, Virginia, U.S. |
| Relatives | Chief Powhatan (brother) Pocahontas (niece) John Rolfe (nephew-in-law) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Powhatan Confederacy |
| Battles/wars | Anglo-Powhatan Wars |
Opechancanough (/oʊpəˈtʃænkənoʊ/ oh-pə-CHAN-kə-noh; 1554–1646)[2] was paramount chief of the Powhatan Confederacy in present-day Virginia from 1618 until his death. He had been a leader in the confederacy formed by his older brother Powhatan, from whom he inherited the paramountcy.
Opechancanough led the Powhatan in the second and third Anglo-Powhatan Wars, including the Indian massacre of 1622.
In 1646, the aged Opechancanough was captured by English colonists and taken to Jamestown, where he was killed by a settler assigned to guard him.
Name
The name Opechancanough meant "He whose Soul is White" in the Algonquian Powhatan language.[3]
It was likely derived from a Powhatan original phonemically spelled as /a·pečehčakeno·w/ < a·pe "white" + čehčak "soul" + -en "inanimate verb ending" + -o·w "3rd person transitive inanimate subject".[4] This would have the reconstructed pronunciation [ɔpət͡ʃəht͡ʃakənoːw] or perhaps [ɔpət͡ʃãkə̃noːw] with nasal spreading and haplology.
Powhatan warrior
The Powhatan Confederacy was established in the late 16th and early 17th centuries under the leadership of Chief Wahunsonacock (more commonly known as Chief Powhatan, named for the tribe he originally led, which was based near present-day Richmond, Virginia). Over a period of years, through negotiation and/or coercion, Chief Powhatan united more than 31 of the Virginia Indian[5] tribal groups in the Tidewater region of what is now the Commonwealth of Virginia, essentially the southeastern portion of the modern state.[citation needed]
At the time of the English settlement at Jamestown, which was established in May 1607, Opechancanough was a much-feared warrior and a charismatic leader of the Powhatans. As Chief Powhatan's younger brother (or possibly half-brother), he headed a tribe situated along the Pamunkey River near the present-day town of West Point.[citation needed]
Known to be strongly opposed to European settlers, he captured Captain John Smith along the Chickahominy River and brought him before Chief Powhatan at Werowocomoco, one of the Powhatans' two capital villages. Located along the northern shore of the present-day York River, Werowocomoco is thought to be where Powhatan's young daughter Matoaka (known as Pocahontas to historians) intervened on Smith's behalf during a ceremony, based upon Smith's account.[citation needed]
Written accounts by other colonists confirm that Pocahontas later served as an intermediary between the natives and the colonists, and helped deliver crucial food during the winter of 1607–08, when the colonists' fort at Jamestown Island burned in an accidental fire in January.[citation needed]
The marriage of Pocahontas and colonist John Rolfe in April 1614 brought a period of peace; this ended not long after her death while on a trip to England and the death of her father, Wahunsonacock, in 1618. A short time later, after a brief succession of the chiefdom by his older brother Opitchapam (during which Opechancanough was war chief), Opechancanough became paramount chief of the Powhatan Confederacy.[citation needed]
Powhatan chief
The natives and the colonists came into increasingly irreconcilable conflict as tobacco (which had been first developed by Rolfe) became the colony's cash crop. The relationship became even more strained as ever-increasing numbers of Europeans arrived and began establishing "hundreds" and plantations along the navigable rivers.
Beginning with the Indian massacre of 1622, in which his forces killed many settlers, Chief Opechancanough abandoned diplomacy with the English colonists as a means of settling conflicts and tried to force them to abandon the region altogether. On March 22, 1622, approximately a third of the settlers in Virginia were killed by Powhatan forces during a series of coordinated attacks along both shores of the James River, extending from Newport News Point, near the mouth of the river, to Falling Creek, near the Fall Line at the head of navigation. But the colony eventually rebounded, and colonists later killed hundreds of natives in retaliation, including many warriors poisoned by Dr. John Pott at Jamestown.
Chief Opechancanough launched a last major effort to expel the colonists on April 18, 1644, the third Anglo-Powhatan War.[6] In 1646, forces under Royal Governor William Berkeley captured Opechancanough, at the time believed to be between 90 and 100 years old.[2] They paraded him as a prisoner through Jamestown before a jeering crowd, and he was subsequently killed by a settler who shot him in the back while assigned to guard him.[7] Before dying, Opechancanough reportedly said, "If it had been my fortune to take Sir William Berkeley prisoner, I would not have meanly exposed him as a show to my people."[8]
He was succeeded as Weroance first by Nectowance, then by Totopotomoi, then by Cockacoeske, Totopotomoi's wife, who is believed to be Opechancanough's daughter or granddaughter.
Connection with Don Luis
Historians, including Carl Bridenbaugh,[9] have speculated that Opechancanough was the same Native American youth who was a chief's son and is known to have been transported voluntarily from the village of Kiskiack, Virginia, to Spain in the 16th century at the age of 17 and educated. He became known as Don Luis.[10] Murrin, however, suggests that Opechancanough was more likely Don Luis's nephew or cousin.[10]
Rechristened as "Don Luis", the young man returned to his homeland in what is now the Virginia Peninsula subregion of the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, where Jesuit priests established Ajacán Mission in September 1570. Shortly thereafter, Don Luis is believed to have returned to live with the Powhatan and turned against the Europeans. He and his allies killed the Jesuits at the mission in the winter of 1571, ending Spanish efforts to colonize the area.
Other historians speculate that Don Luis may have become the father of Powhatan chiefs Wahunsunacock and Opechancanough.[2] Their remains are buried on the Pamunkey Indian Reservation in King William, Virginia.
Illness
From various contemporary reports, it is speculated that Opechancanough suffered from myasthenia gravis. These reports include symptoms of weakness which improved with resting, and visible drooping of the eyelids.[11]
Representations
- Opechancanough was portrayed by Stuart Randall in the 1953 low-budget film Captain John Smith and Pocahontas. The film shortened his name to Opechanco.
- He appeared as a figure in the Animated Hero Classics 1994 episode "Pocahontas," and was voiced by Lorenzo Gonzalez, but is entirely absent in Disney's 1995 animated film Pocahontas as well as its 1998 direct-to-video sequel Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World.
- Opechancanough is portrayed by Wes Studi in Terrence Malick's 2005 film The New World. In this live-action film, he is conflated with Tomocomo, a priest who accompanied Pocahontas/Rebecca to London.
- In the Sky TV show Jamestown, he is played by Raoul Max Trujillo.
See also
References
- ^ "Colonial Williamsburg | the World's Largest Living History Museum".
- ^ a b c Rountree, Helen C. (2006). Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown. University of Virginia Press: Charlottesville. ISBN 9780813925967.
- ^ John M. Murrin, et al. Liberty Equality Power: A History of the American People, Volume I: To 1877, third edition (Florence, Kentucky: Wadsworth-Thomson Learning, 1996, 2002), pp. 36-37.)
- ^ Siebert Jr., Frank T. (1975). "Resurrecting Virginia Algonquian from the Dead". Studies in Southeastern Indian Languages. University of Georgia Press. pp. 295 (phonology), passim (lexicon). ISBN 978-0-8203-0334-5.
- ^ "Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-24.
- ^ Spencer C. Tucker; James R. Arnold; Roberta Wiener (30 September 2011). The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Wars, 1607–1890: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-1-85109-697-8. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
- ^ Robert Marshall Utley; Wilcomb E. Washburn (1985). Indian Wars. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-618-15464-7. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
- ^ Carl Waldman (1 January 2009). Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Infobase Publishing. p. 237. ISBN 978-1-4381-1010-3. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
- ^ John M. Murrin, et al. Liberty Equality Power: A History of the American People, Volume I: To 1877, third edition (Florence, Kentucky: Wadsworth-Thomson Learning, 1996, 2002), pp.36-37
- ^ a b Jamestown, Williamsburg, Yorktown: The Official Guide to America's Historic Triangle. John F. Blair, Publisher. 28 February 2007. pp. 122–123. ISBN 978-0-87935-230-1. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
- ^ Marsteller H. Blair (1988). "The first American case of myasthenia gravis". Arch. Neurol. 45 (2): 185–187. doi:10.1001/archneur.1988.00520260073024. PMID 3277598.
Further reading
- James Horn, A Brave and Cunning Prince: The Great Chief Opechancanough, 2021.
- W. Martha W. McCartney, Cockacoeske, Queen of Pamunkey: Diplomat and Suzeraine.
- David A. Price, Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of A New Nation, Alfred A. Knopf, 2003
- Helen C. Rountree, The Powhatan Indians of Virginia: Their Traditional Culture. University of Oklahoma Press, 1989.
- Helen C. Rountree. Powhatan Foreign Relations: 1500-1722, Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press. 1993.
- Alan Taylor. American Colonies, New York: Viking, 2001.
- Peter H. Wood, Powhatan's Mantle: Indians in the Colonial Southeast
External links
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