Chapter 6: 1621-1622, War against the English

After Powhatan’s death in 1618, Opechancanough assumed the mantle of leadership among the people of Tsenacomoco. The new chief looked upon the English and their Colony of Virginia as a direct threat to him and his people.

2 “The time has come for us to teach these barbarians a lesson which they will never forget,” he announced to the council of weroances and warriors which he had assembled at his capital. “When we are finished with them, they will not want to live among us anymore,” he finished.

3 Then one of the holy men brought forward a bundle wrapped in a deer skin and decorated with shells and feathers and held it aloft for everyone to see. “These are the bones of the great Powhatan,” Opechancanough explained. “They cry out to us to undertake this sacred mission – to expel these foreigners from our midst! Will you answer their call?” he asked. With that, the assembled guests sprang to their feet with shouts and screams and fists stabbing the air above their heads as the holy man carefully placed the bundle on a platform in their midst.

4 That summer, Opechancanough approached the weroance of the Accomack and asked for his help. “I need a large quantity of the death plant,” he told him. “The foreigners will taste its bitterness in their water before we attack them,” he explained. “They will be weak and full of sadness when we come among them.”

5 “Such a large quantity of the plant would take much time to gather,” the weroance answered. “I will present your plan to my people and contact you when they have gathered it,” he finished.

6 The weroance, however, had no intention of gathering the death plant or giving it to Opechancanough. He was friendly with the English and informed them of the mamanatowick’s plans as soon as he had left his village.

7 Even so, Opechancanough had not been fooled by the leader of the Accomack. “He will not help us,” he told his warriors as he made his way back to his own village. “We will have to make the English believe that we want to be their friends,” he continued.

8 Toward that end, Opechancanough sent word to George Thorpe that he wanted to convert to Christianity. As a consequence, Captain Thorpe had a meeting with the mamanatowick and explained to him the religion of the English colonists.

9 Opechancanough listened politely and said, “I know that our ways are not pleasing to your God.” “It is also clear to our eyes that the Great Spirit favors your people,” he added.

10 Then he embraced the captain and told him that they would talk more about all of this in the near future. “Maybe, there is yet hope for these savages,” the captain thought as he returned to Jamestown.

11 At the beginning of spring, however, Opechancanough and his warriors launched a simultaneous attack on all of the English settlers and settlements. “When you enter one of their homes, make sure that you kill everyone inside – don’t let anyone escape,” the mamanatowick told them.

12 As a consequence, by the time that they were finished, over three hundred English colonists were dead. Captain Thorpe had also died in the massacre. Even so, much to the chagrin of Opechancanough and his allies, the English did not appear to be in any hurry to leave Virginia. They had suffered a serious setback, but the survivors appeared to be determined to stay.