Download PDF Pocahontas and the English Boys Caught between Cultures in Early Virginia eBook Karen Ordahl Kupperman
Download As PDF : Pocahontas and the English Boys Caught between Cultures in Early Virginia eBook Karen Ordahl Kupperman
The captivating story of four young people—English and Powhatan—who lived their lives between cultures
Download PDF Pocahontas and the English Boys Caught between Cultures in Early Virginia eBook Karen Ordahl Kupperman
"In a day of "helicopter parenting," "snowflakes," and similar epithets easily tossed around--and perhaps more truth than fiction--reading about pre-adolescent children being sent far across an unfriendly ocean to act as emissaries of a sort: What an eye-opener; what food for thought on the real capabilities of our children.
The "English Boys" who are the subject of this book were three 10 to 12 year olds who were sent by their families to the nascent Jamestown Colony, with the specific intent to have them live among the local Indian tribal families so they could learn the language and serve as go-betweens the leaders of both the English and native residents of the land. It was something of an exchange program, as Pocohantas and Squanto and other Indian children were likewise shipped off to England, sometimes as a kind of tit-for-tat agreement. Those children were more likely put on display instead of being given the roles Thomas Savage, Robert Poole, and Henry Spellman would take on.
It should be noted that much/most of this book provides a wider story of the ongoing, and gradually deterioriating, relationships between English and "Americans" rather than tracking in much detail the individual stories of the English boys, but, as important as their roles were, there is not a lot of documentation of their lives. What we do get, however, is a great deal of information on what life was really like for these early settlers and the peoples they would ultimately displace.
One strength of this book is that Kupperman has not demonized one side or the other; instead, she adds the details that give more reason for their actions. She also has not minimized the incredible harshness and cruelty extant in both sides, something those of us in the comfort of the 21st century can too easily take for granted. Still, she notes that the encouragement of the Virginia Company to have the City of London round up "a hundred children of twelve years and upward" to populate the colony resulted in a very unsettling time of transition as the population was made up of more and more of these "young and unwilling new arrivals." (143)
Over time, of course, the impossible intermediary role given to Henry, Roert, and Thomas could only end badly, but the author recognizes well their importance. As she states in her final paragraphs:
"The boys had been selected for service with the Chesapeake Algonquians beause they were still malleable, unbaked dough, and could therefore adapt to life with the Powhatans and learn new languages more easily...As the colonists raged and starved because they could not cope, the boys saw competence and a culture in which status was earned rather than acquired....They could see the value of both sides."
While not a light read, this is definitely important for anyone interested in filling in the gaps of their understanding of our early history."
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Pocahontas and the English Boys Caught between Cultures in Early Virginia eBook Karen Ordahl Kupperman Reviews :
Pocahontas and the English Boys Caught between Cultures in Early Virginia eBook Karen Ordahl Kupperman Reviews
- Superb book! References researched with great detail. The information provided was far and above any other Jamestown source I have read. I am descended from Thomas Savage; therefore, I was captivated by all the new information provided (there has been a paucity of records on Savage). I enjoyed the Spelman history too, because his writings were a major source for this book. The indigenous history was also quite revealing and gave the reader pause for thought.
Frequently, I have found the early records of Jamestown were obscure such that the meaning was lost; Ms. Kupperman did an exquisite job of putting them in plain English (thank you).
It is a must read for any Jamestown, early Virginian, history buff. A page turner for me, loved it, 5 stars! - In a day of "helicopter parenting," "snowflakes," and similar epithets easily tossed around--and perhaps more truth than fiction--reading about pre-adolescent children being sent far across an unfriendly ocean to act as emissaries of a sort What an eye-opener; what food for thought on the real capabilities of our children.
The "English Boys" who are the subject of this book were three 10 to 12 year olds who were sent by their families to the nascent Jamestown Colony, with the specific intent to have them live among the local Indian tribal families so they could learn the language and serve as go-betweens the leaders of both the English and native residents of the land. It was something of an exchange program, as Pocohantas and Squanto and other Indian children were likewise shipped off to England, sometimes as a kind of tit-for-tat agreement. Those children were more likely put on display instead of being given the roles Thomas Savage, Robert Poole, and Henry Spellman would take on.
It should be noted that much/most of this book provides a wider story of the ongoing, and gradually deterioriating, relationships between English and "Americans" rather than tracking in much detail the individual stories of the English boys, but, as important as their roles were, there is not a lot of documentation of their lives. What we do get, however, is a great deal of information on what life was really like for these early settlers and the peoples they would ultimately displace.
One strength of this book is that Kupperman has not demonized one side or the other; instead, she adds the details that give more reason for their actions. She also has not minimized the incredible harshness and cruelty extant in both sides, something those of us in the comfort of the 21st century can too easily take for granted. Still, she notes that the encouragement of the Virginia Company to have the City of London round up "a hundred children of twelve years and upward" to populate the colony resulted in a very unsettling time of transition as the population was made up of more and more of these "young and unwilling new arrivals." (143)
Over time, of course, the impossible intermediary role given to Henry, Roert, and Thomas could only end badly, but the author recognizes well their importance. As she states in her final paragraphs
"The boys had been selected for service with the Chesapeake Algonquians beause they were still malleable, unbaked dough, and could therefore adapt to life with the Powhatans and learn new languages more easily...As the colonists raged and starved because they could not cope, the boys saw competence and a culture in which status was earned rather than acquired....They could see the value of both sides."
While not a light read, this is definitely important for anyone interested in filling in the gaps of their understanding of our early history. - For those who think the title of this book is suggesting something titillating happening back in Jamestown, that wasn't taught in 4th-grade history, forget it. The English boys were just that--boys the British left with the Powhatan tribe so they could learn the language and the culture, and help the early colonists deal with the "savages". Only the "savages" weren't the only ones guilty of savagery at times. The British often did despicable things, and considered themselves superior to the various tribes. They also obviously had little concern about their own children once they reached a certain age. That's why I hate reading about British history before WWI. I so often can't stand the British in earlier times.
That's not why I gave the book only three stars, though. I did so because I think Ms. Kupperman's work was too fragmented and often confusing. I certainly wasn't looking for "creative nonfiction", but did expect a story that flowed more smoothly. Particularly after Pocahontas' death, it’s quite confusing what is going on in the lives of the “British boysâ€--Thomas Savage, Henry Spelman, and Robert Poole--who were then young men. Nevertheless, I learned a lot of interesting information about the Powhatan people, including what they believed happened after death. They obviously believed in a type of reincarnation, where the soul returned to Earth to live again. That definitely wasn’t taught back in 4th-grade history.
