The History of the Americans

This episode is about the kidnapping and ransom of Pocahontas in 1613, the romancing of her by John Rolfe, her conversion to Christianity, and their marriage in 1614, which settled the First Anglo-Powhatan War.  We look at the two protagonists, their different personalities, their motives, and the extent of their emotional attachment. My primary source for this episode is a very interesting book written only in 2004 by Camilla Townsend, “Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma.”  Professor Townsend reads all the various accounts of Pocahontas’ life critically, in the sense of thoughtfully, trying to imagine what she must have felt under the circumstances described by the various European men who encountered her and wrote down what they believed happened. Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2 Facebook: The History of the Americans Podcast References for this episode Camilla Townsend, Pocahontas And The Powhatan Dilemma Mawage John Philip Sousa, “Powhatan’s Daughter March” Errata: I misspoke when I said that Thomas Rolfe would have many children – he had many grandchildren, all descended from his only daughter, Jane Rolfe, who would marry Robert Bolling. Their son John Bolling would have six children, all of whom would marry and have children of their own.

This episode is a close look at the First Anglo-Powhatan War, which began shortly after John Smith left Jamestown forever in October 1609, and ended as a formal matter with the marriage of Pocahontas and John Rolfe. The war was extremely bloody, if casualties are measured as a percentage of original population, and is noteworthy as the first true war between English settlers and the Indians of North America. Many more would come. But, before even getting to seventeenth century Virginia, we fix our gimlet eye on the historical significance of National Beer Day! Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2 Facebook: The History of the Americans Podcast Selected references for this episode J. Frederick Fausz, “An ‘Abundance of Blood Shed on Both Sides’: England’s First Indian War, 1609-1614,” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, January 1990 James Horn, A Brave and Cunning Prince: The Great Chief Opechancanough and the War for America National Beer Day (Wikipedia) Message of FDR to Congress re the Volstead Act Elizabeth Warren gets her a beer

After the experience of 15 months, 66 substantive episodes, and more than 180,000 aggregate downloads/listens, I thought it would be useful to reintroduce the podcast. I labored over the original introduction and still stand by it, and yet it does not really reflect the tone of the podcast as it has turned out. This episode is therefore a new introduction for both new and longstanding subscribers. It includes a description of the podcast as it has actually evolved, and also my thoughts on the need for history to be fun and interesting, the avoidance of “presentism,” and the importance of attempting to keep politics out of the teaching and telling of history. And there’s an awesome clip from “Inherit the Wind.”

Again we digress into the question of privateering and letters of marque, and then take on the stories of the two “sons” whom Christopher Newport and the paramount chief Powhatan exchanged as hostages and emissaries in 1608, the English boy Thomas Savage and the young Powhatan man Namontack. Neither are as famous as Pocahontas or, for that matter, Squanto (Tisquantum), but they were remarkable in their own right. Both would show an impressive facility for utterly alien languages and cultures, and both would be torn between loyalty to their own people and to the side that adopted them. One of them would eventually achieve the honor of giving a name to a vessel of the United States Navy. Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2 Facebook: The History of the Americans Podcast Selected references for this episode Christopher Clausen, “Between Two Worlds,” The American Scholar, Summer 2007 Alden T. Vaughan, “Namontack’s Itinerant Life and Mysterious Death: Sources and Speculations,” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 2018. USS Namontack The Paris Declaration of 1856 (re privateering) Jimmy Buffett, “A Pirate Looks At Forty,” with Jerry Jeff Walker Malintzin (Wikipedia) Debedeavon (Wikipedia)

In this episode we look at the gruesome “starving time” in Jamestown and the resurgent Powhatan war during the seven months after John Smith’s departure in October 1609. The mortality rate at the colony was close to 80% in just that winter, and the incompetence that led to it is breathtaking. Relief comes only with the arrival of two ships from Bermuda carrying the castaways from the Sea Venture shipwreck. The Powhatans almost eject the English from Virginia, but the aptly named Lord de la Warr fatefully arrives just in time with much-needed reinforcements and supplies. If a few things had gone even slightly differently, Jamestown would not have survived, and English North America would be very different. [Errata: “De la Warr” was pronounced closer to “Delaware” than my own pronunciation in this episode.] Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2 Facebook: The History of the Americans Podcast Selected references for this episode David Price, Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation James Horn, A Land As God Made It: Jamestown and the Birth of America All That’s Interesting/Starving Time (Story about archeology at the Jamestown site that I came across after I had recorded the episode) United States state-level population estimates: Colonization to 1999 Dr. Strangelove (checklist scene)

The episode begins with current events, sorting out the correct reading of the “letters of marque and reprisals” clause of the US Constitution, which actually has nothing to do with Jamestown but touches on the Russo-Ukraine war, which is raging as we write this. We express a mix of approval of and gentle criticism of Representative Lance Gooden of Texas, who also appears to love letters of marque. For those of you listening in the future, we hope it resolves satisfactorily for the people of Ukraine. The rest of the episode is an overview of the Jamestown settlement timeline between John Smith’s departure in October 1609 and the start of the Second Powhatan War on March 22, 1622, just five days short of 400 years ago as I write this. Big picture, etc. That will set us up to hit the highlights during that stretch over the next few episodes. Oh, and we touch upon the signal events of 1619. Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2 Facebook: The History of the Americans Podcast Selected references for this episode James Horn, A Brave and Cunning Prince: The Great Chief Opechancanough and the War for America David Price, Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation Jamestown Timeline

Here come the Dutch! In the busy summer of 1609, English captain Henry Hudson, sailing the Half Moon for the Dutch East India Company, explores the Hudson River from New York Bay to the north of Albany, having numerous encounters, fraught and otherwise, with the local indigenous people along the way. Before he’s done Hudson learns the name of that long skinny island that has forever been the economic capital of the United States. The episode concludes with Hudson’s gruesome demise, for which he mostly had himself to blame. Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2 Facebook: The History of the Americans Podcast Selected references for this episode Russell Shorto, The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America Daniel K. Richter, “From ‘The Third Voyage of Master Henry Hudson’ by Robert Juet” Emanuel Van Meteren, on Hudson’s Voyage, 1610 Dutch East India Company (Wikipedia) Palisades Amusement Park commercial “Happy Days”

It is the summer of 1609. Samuel de Champlain has founded Quebec and spent the winter there. During that very difficult time, with its Jamestown-like death rate, he had built strong alliances with the Montaignais, Huron, and other local tribes. The Mohawks, coming up from today’s New York State, have been attacking Champlain’s allies for many years, long before the French arrived, but those attacks have intensified. The European fur trade has gotten more lucrative, and that makes the tribes along the St. Lawrence a more attractive target for Mohawk attacks. Champlain develops a plan to launch a preemptive raid on the Mohawk, deep in their own territory, to make them think twice about attacking to their north. Along the way, he and two companions become the first Europeans to see Lake Champlain or set foot in today’s Vermont. Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2 Facebook: The History of the Americans Podcast Selected references for this episode David Hackett Fischer, Champlain’s Dream The Devil Wears Prada (clip) The Bridge on the River Kwai (clip)

After a brief digression into current events and a visit to a Ukrainian speakeasy, we accompany Samuel de Champlain to the first settlement of New France, which was in today’s Maine, just 1700 feet from Nova Scotia. We also recount his three trips along the coast of New England in 1604, 1605, and 1606, barely missing George Weymouth and the Archangel along the way. Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2 Facebook: The History of the Americans Podcast Selected references for this episode David Hackett Fischer, Champlain’s Dream Eric Yanis, The Other States of America History Podcast Machias-Seal Island

In this episode we learn the political and geopolitical foundations of New France and the importance of the beloved King Henri IV to French expansion in North America. We follow Champlain in his youth, including his first adventure in the New World on a Spanish ship, and the circumstances under which he inherited a lot of money. We also meet the remarkable characters who recruited Champlain, or vice versa, to sail on an expedition to the St. Lawrence in 1603, where Champlain first heard tell of the big lakes in upstate New York, one of which bears his name, the Great Lakes, and the Hudson and Detroit rivers. Oh, and we learn the origin of the expression “a chicken in every pot.” Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2 Facebook: The History of the Americans Podcast Selected references for this episode David Hackett Fischer, Champlain’s Dream Eric Yanis, The Other States of America History Podcast Geaux Tigers Heartwarming Ted Lasso Moments (YouTube)