"John Smith was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author. He played an important role in the establishment of the Jamestown colony, the first permanent English settlement in North America, in the early 17th century. Smith was a leader of the Virginia Colony based at Jamestown between September 1608 and August 1609, and led an exploration along the rivers of Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay, during which he became the first English explorer to map the Chesapeake Bay area. Later, he explored and mapped the coast of New England. He was knighted for his services to Sigismund Báthory, Prince of Transylvania, and his friend Mózes Székely." - Wikipedia
1580-1631
I swear, the first thing which came to my mind was the movie Avatar. The second was the realization that our Pocahontas was a Giant. And then it was, that our Native Americans look very much not what I'm used to today.
Title Page of this Book printed in 1624: The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles: With the Names of the Adventurers, Planters, and Governours from Their First Beginning, Ano: 1584. To This Present 1624. With the Procedings of Those Severall Colonies and the Accidents That Befell Them in All Their Journyes and Discoveries. Also the Maps and Descriptions of All Those Countryes, Their Commodities, People, Government, Customes, and Religion Yet Knowne. Divided into Sixe Bookes. By Captaine Iohn Smith, Sometymes Governour in Those Countryes & Admirall of New England
Here is why I thought of the Avatar movie. What kind of Native Americans were out there in the early 17th century? The kind they forgot to tell us about?
This John Smith was a very strong person I recon. Take a look at him taking different Kings prisoners. One of the pictures is gonna be the same we have above. But those are Kings being captured. Why are they Kings, by the way? Were there kingdoms involved? King Paspahegh (1609) is on the left, and King Pamavukee (1603).
Now let us take a look at Pocahontas. The first image below (on the left) is Pocahontas asking her father, King Powhatan to spare John Smith's life. Pocahontas appears gigantic comparing to John Smith. The second image on the right shows the abduction of Pocahontas. Natives by the boat appear much bigger then the boat crew. Of course we could justify it with some sort of "artist vision" type thing. But was it really the "vision"?
And then we have the facial features of these Natives. Very bizarre. Entire images are below for your examination.
From The Voyages of CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH (of Jamestown, Va.) during the Years 1607-9:
KD: In 1616 Pocahontas was presented to English society as an example of the "civilized savage" in hopes of stimulating investment in the Jamestown settlement. She became something of a celebrity, was elegantly fêted, and attended a masque at Whitehall Palace. (per Wiki)
1580-1631
I swear, the first thing which came to my mind was the movie Avatar. The second was the realization that our Pocahontas was a Giant. And then it was, that our Native Americans look very much not what I'm used to today.
Title Page of this Book printed in 1624: The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles: With the Names of the Adventurers, Planters, and Governours from Their First Beginning, Ano: 1584. To This Present 1624. With the Procedings of Those Severall Colonies and the Accidents That Befell Them in All Their Journyes and Discoveries. Also the Maps and Descriptions of All Those Countryes, Their Commodities, People, Government, Customes, and Religion Yet Knowne. Divided into Sixe Bookes. By Captaine Iohn Smith, Sometymes Governour in Those Countryes & Admirall of New England
Here is why I thought of the Avatar movie. What kind of Native Americans were out there in the early 17th century? The kind they forgot to tell us about?
From The Voyages of CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH (of Jamestown, Va.) during the Years 1607-9:
- ". . . 60 of those Susquehannocks came to us . . . such great and well proportioned men are seldome seene, for they seemed like giants to the English . . .these are the strangest people of all those countries both in language and attire; for their language it may well beseeme their proportions, sounding from them as a voice in a vault. Their attire is the skinnes of beares and woolves, some have cassocks made of beares heades and skinnes . . . The halfe sleeves coming to the elbows were the heades of beares and the arms through the open mouth . . . one had the heade of a woolf hanging from a chain for a jewell . . . with a club suitable to his greatness sufficient to beat out ones brains. Five of their chiefe wereowances came aboard us . . . (of) the greatest of them his hayre, the one side was long and the other shorn close with a ridge over his crowne like a cocks combe . . . The calfe of whose leg was of a yard around and all the rest of his limbes so answerable to that proportion that he seemed the goodliest man we ever beheld!"
KD: In 1616 Pocahontas was presented to English society as an example of the "civilized savage" in hopes of stimulating investment in the Jamestown settlement. She became something of a celebrity, was elegantly fêted, and attended a masque at Whitehall Palace. (per Wiki)
- Pocahontas died at Gravesend of unknown causes, aged 20 or 21.
- She was buried in St George's Church, Gravesend, in England, but her grave's exact location is unknown because the church was rebuilt after a fire destroyed it.
