How did Captain Argall manage to capture Pocahontas as a
hostage?
Please answer fast for I brainliest and thanks from me
Answers
Whether the incident happened as Captain Samuel Argall described it has not been terribly controversial among historians, as most of the recent biographies and histories tell the story in pretty much the same way, although we've probably all become a bit more sophisticated about our understanding of the Patawomeck point of view. I don't know that I can add anything of historical record to cast doubt on the widely-held view of the story, but I think it's worth noting that we are relying on Samuel Argall's account via Ralph Hamor, John Smith and Samuel Purchas, and none* of the three reporters were actual witnesses of the events that Argall described. Smith and Purchas weren't even in Virginia at the time. [* I'm still trying to verify if Ralph Hamor was present in Passapatanzy or not; but it seems that he wasn't.]
The basic story is as follows:
In March 1613, Captain Samuel Argall sailed to the Potomac River to trade with the friendly Patawomeck tribe. Traveling so far to trade had become necessary due to the ongoing war between the Powhatans and the English. Argall learned that Pocahontas was visiting the Patawomecks, perhaps to trade, and he decided it was an excellent opportunity to capture her and hold her for ransom in order to persuade Wahunsenaca to repatriate a number of white settlers then living with the Powhatans, as well as to get him to return some tools and guns that had been stolen. To get Pocahontas onto the boat, Argall pressured Japazaws (a lesser chief, whose name has different spellings in the various accounts) to make it happen, saying that if he didn't cooperate, they would no longer be friends. Japazaws, understandably, protested, saying that his tribe would be vulnerable to reprisals by Powhatan. Argall assured him that the English would protect his tribe against Powhatan. He also offered a copper kettle as payment. Japazaws and his wife subsequently persuaded Pocahontas to board the ship, on the pretext that Japazaws's wife wanted to see it and needed Pocahontas to accompany her. If Argall is to be believed, the stratagem worked as planned, and the abduction occurred without a hitch. {For a more dramatic and detailed account, see the David Price version below. Original chronicler Ralph Hamor and John Smith's accounts are at the bottom of the page.]
Plz mark as brainliest
Answer:
The controversy in the Pocahontas abduction story rests mainly in that it happened at all. Pocahontas had been an early visitor to Jamestown in the days when Chief Wahunsenaca and his people were providing food to the desperate settlers. Her abduction several years later was obviously cruel payment for her and her father's kind diplomacy. But by 1613, the settlers no longer viewed the Powhatans as friendly (indeed they were at intermittent war with them), and Pocahontas:s value as a bargaining chip outweighed any feelings of gratitude the settlers may have had for her. (Plus, most of the settlers who knew her personally were either dead or had gone back to England.)
Whether the incident happened as Captain Samuel Argall described it has not been terribly controversial among historians, as most of the recent biographies and histories tell the story in pretty much the same way, although we've probably all become a bit more sophisticated about our understanding of the Patawomeck point of view. I don't know that I can add anything of historical record to cast doubt on the widely-held view of the story, but I think it's worth noting that we are relying on Samuel Argall's account via Ralph Hamor, John Smith and Samuel Purchas, and none* of the three reporters were actual witnesses of the events that Argall described. Smith and Purchas weren't even in Virginia at the time. [* I'm still trying to verify if Ralph Hamor was present in Passapatanzy or not; but it seems that he wasn't.]
The basic story is as follows:
In March 1613, Captain Samuel Argall sailed to the Potomac River to trade with the friendly Patawomeck tribe. Traveling so far to trade had become necessary due to the ongoing war between the Powhatans and the English. Argall learned that Pocahontas was visiting the Patawomecks, perhaps to trade, and he decided it was an excellent opportunity to capture her and hold her for ransom in order to persuade Wahunsenaca to repatriate a number of white settlers then living with the Powhatans, as well as to get him to return some tools and guns that had been stolen. To get Pocahontas onto the boat, Argall pressured Japazaws (a lesser chief, whose name has different spellings in the various accounts) to make it happen, saying that if he didn't cooperate, they would no longer be friends. Japazaws, understandably, protested, saying that his tribe would be vulnerable to reprisals by Powhatan. Argall assured him that the English would protect his tribe against Powhatan. He also offered a copper kettle as payment. Japazaws and his wife subsequently persuaded Pocahontas to board the ship, on the pretext that Japazaws's wife wanted to see it and needed Pocahontas to accompany her. If Argall is to be believed, the stratagem worked as planned, and the abduction occurred without a hitch. {For a more dramatic and detailed account, see the David Price version below. Original chronicler Ralph Hamor and John Smith's accounts are at the bottom of the page.]
Plz mark as brainliest