LITR 4231 Early American Literature Research Posts 2014 (research post assignment) Research Post 1

Carmen Rosella Halbison

To Leave by Force; To Come by Force

Originally for my research post, I wanted to explore the life of Russell Means, a Lakota Indian activist and actor, who gave what I thought was a very powerful speech titled, “For America to Live, Europe must die” in defense of the Lakota culture and its people. In doing so, I would not have met the guidelines of the period in which we are studying. However, my interest remained with the Indian culture, so I am going to explore the Indian culture during the rule of Opechankanough, the Tribal Chief of the Powhatan Confederacy. I will research how and why the Indians were forced to leave Virginia at the same time in which Africans were forced to remain in Virginia.

Opechankanough was the youngest brother of Chief Powhatan and had assumed the title of “King of Chickahominy.” Upon the death of Chief Powhatan in 1618, the middle brother, Opitachapan became Tribal Chief, but due to Opitachapan being a cripple, Opechankanough assumed the role of being the “real” leader of the Indian people. When Opitachapan died, Opechankanough became Tribal Leader.

Depending on the source, there is a disparity of the birth of Opechankanough. Some sources states that he was born in 1554 and some implies 1544. Which I do not know, but for the sake of my reporting, I am assuming the date of 1544 which makes sense to the sequence of events. In 1561, at the age of seventeen, he was captured by the Spanish and taken to Spain. According to another source, it was common practice prior to the European invasion, for two Indian nations to exchange their young people between them as an opportunity to learn the language and customs of other nations. Upon contact with Spain, Portugal, France and England, the Indians continued this practice and their young boys were “taken,” not captured, to Spain.

While in Spain, he was taught the Spanish life and customs by the priests for five years. He learned diplomacy, planning and patience from the Dominicans and the Jesuits. At the completion of the five years, Opechankanough spent the next three years in Mexico. There he witnessed the natives being treated like second class citizens in their own land. At the age of 25, Opechankanough returned to Spain and was educated by the Jesuits for the next three years. Eventually, he returned to his own land as an interpreter and missionary.

The colonists would make attempts to force the Indians from their land, but not without a fight…

Almost around the time that Opechankanough became Chief in Jamestown, the first Africans were arriving in Jamestown. According to one source, the Africans were stolen from a Portuguese merchant-slaver by the Dutch. Upon arriving at Jamestown the Dutch traded the Africans with the settlers for food.

What I found interesting was that according to this source, Africans from Luanda, a Portuguese colony of Angola, had been trading with the Europeans for years and they had a common language with the Europeans. They were also Christians. These Africans were not confined to a live of slavery, because it was common business practices to trade goods and services with the Europeans. However, once the Africans landed on American soil, they were considered indentured servants. Their bondage into slavery would come years later.

          The Africans will come to understand all too soon that their exchange with the colonist was not that of trading, but of forced servitude…

References

"Africans Arrive in Virginia, 1619." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. 1999. Retrieved March 26, 2014 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3406400017.html

Becker, E. (1999). Chronology on the History of Slavery. (1999). Retrieved March 26, 2014 from http://innercity.org/holt/slavechron.html

Ojibwa. (January 31, 2010). One who came back. Native American Netroots. Retrieved from http://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/tag/Opechancanough

“Our ancestors in Jamestown, Virginia.” (n.d.). Genealogical Gleanings. Retrieved March 26, 2014 from http://genealogical-gleanings.com/Jamestown.htm

Wood, P. (n.d.). Africans in America: The terrible transformation. PBS Online. Retrieved March 26, 2014 from www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia