All,
It was the Nanzatico community to which Kevin Berland is referring.
They lived on the north side of the Rappahannock River across from
Portobago Bay. By 1700, Nanzatico/Portobago had become something of a
mixed-Indian community that consisted of Potobagos from Maryland, the
ancestral Nantaughtacund (anglicized Nanzatico) community, and other
displaced peoples from all along the northern neck--Patawomecks,
Matchotics, Rappahannocks to name only a few.
In the years after Bacon's Rebellion, this region of the Rappahannock
experienced a significant growth in English settlement. The Wormeley,
Corbin, and Lomax families were all major patentees at both Portobago
and Nanzatico. The steady incursions by Englishmen upon Indian land
displaced even more communities. By treaty, the Virginia governor
bound himself to protect Indian lands, though he was rarely
successful. Such was the case in April 1704, the Nanzatico Indians
complained to the colonial council that a neighbor, Thomas Kendall,
had broken down their fences and “turned them off their land.” The
council referred the complaint to House of Burgesses, but no one
acted. A second complaint by the Nanzatico against another
Englishman, John Rowley, was also ignored. Finally, on August 30,
1704, ten Nanzatico men attacked and murdered John Rowley and his
family in their home.
The militia of Richmond County, commanded by Colonel William Tayloe,
went after the Nanzatico. Colonel Tayloe’s scouts found most of the
community hiding in the woods. The Richmond County militia rounded up
forty-nine men, women, and children. Tayloe marched them to Richmond
County and jailed them to await trial. Meanwhile, the Nanzatico’s
English neighbors “plundered” and “destroyed” the Nanzatico’s vacant
town.
The council ordered that a court of oyer and terminer be held in
Richmond County the first week of October. This show trial attracted
the leading men of the colony: four councilors, fourteen burgesses
including the Speaker of the House, all of the justices from Richmond
County, and the militia officers and clerks from Westmoreland,
Stafford, Richmond, and Essex counties. The colony ordered that two
or three of the great men from each of the tributaries attend the
trial. Sixteen judges heard the case. These judges, with advice from
the councilors and militia commanders in attendance decided the fate
of the accused and their families. The judges found seven of the
Nanzatico men guilty. They were hanged immediately. The rest of the
Nanzatico were jailed in Williamsburg for the winter until the
assembly decided their fate. They were the second set of prisoners in
the new Williamsburg goal.
In May 1705, on the advice of the militia commanders who had attended
the trial, the assembly decided to invoke a 1665 law that made whole
communities’ answerable “with their lives or liberties” for “any
murthers [that] be committed upon the English.” This was the first
time that the assembly had invoked this harsh law The burgesses
decided to sell as servants in the West Indies all of the Nanzatico
over the age of twelve. They were not allowed to return to Virginia
on pain of death. Those under the age of twelve were bound as
servants to members of the council and not allowed to return to the
Rappahannock River or live in an Indian town ever again.
For more on this see, Gwenda Morgan, “Sold into Slavery in
Retribution against the Nanziattico Indians,” Virginia Cavalcade, 33
(Spring 1984):168-73.
Best,
Edward Ragan
On Jun 20, 2007, at 10:35 AM, Kevin Joel Berland wrote:
>
> I am trying to remember the name of the Virginia nation which was
> defeated,
> captured, and sent as slaves to the West Indies. I'll go back and
> check my
> notes and if I turn anything up, I'll let you know.
|