In the mid-sixteenth century, Spanish explorers in the Chesapeake
region kidnapped an Indian teenager and took him back to Spain, a
common occurrence at the time. What was uncommon in this case was
that the young man eventually came back. During his time abroad,
the boy lived in Madrid, Seville, Havana, and Mexico City, becoming
a favorite of King Philip II and converting to Catholicism in the
process. In fact, his faith grew so strong, he said, that he felt
compelled to help establish a Jesuit mission to save the souls of
his people back in Virginia-but shortly after the group arrived in
the New World, he abandoned his fellow missionaries, rejoined his
family, and soon returned with a small band of warriors to
slaughter the Europeans. In the years that followed, he became the
warrior chief known as Opechancanough, and alongside his brother
Wahunsonacock (father of Pocahontas), he solidified their people's
control of coastal Virginia, making the Powhatans the most powerful
Indian chiefdom on the mid-Atlantic seaboard. Under their reign,
the region remained free of European settlers until 1607, when
English colonists arrived in Jamestown. But this was not so
unbalanced an encounter as many have supposed. Because of his time
among the Europeans, Opechancanough was acutely aware not only of
the English settlers' technological capabilities, but also of the
fierce determination with which they would pursue their invasion of
his homeland. As time passed, the two chiefs sought to drive the
invaders out, and mounted a series of attacks that nearly destroyed
the colony at Jamestown. But the English settlers proved more
resilient than the Spanish missionaries had been forty years
earlier. Additional soldiers, weapons, and provisions arrived from
England, forcing Opechancanough to drag his offensive on for
decades. He survived to be nearly a hundred years old and died as
he lived, fighting the invaders. A Brave and Cunning Prince is the
first book to chronicle the life of Opechancanough, exploring his
early exposure to European society and his lifelong fight to
protect the integrity of his homeland. With engrossing
storytelling, deep research, and surprising insights, A Brave and
Cunning Prince will be vital reading for anyone seeking to
understand the charged early encounters between the indigenous
peoples of North America and the settlers who would bring death and
destruction.
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