Book contents
- Frontmatter
- EDITOR's PREFACE
- INTRODUCTION
- LETTER FROM THE LORD DELAWARR
- THE FIRST BOOKE
- A PRÆMONITION TO THE READER
- CAPUT I The Cosmographie of Virginia; latitude and bounds; extention upon a right lyne; first division—the quality of the mountaynes, and description of the high land; subdivided; her temperature, wynds, soyle, valies, plaines, marishes, etc.
- CAPUT II Description of the five principall rivers within the Chesapeak Bay, together with such by-streames which fall into them; a description of the Sasquesahanougs of Cape La Warre; the falling with our coast; the fitness of Cape Comfort to fortefie at
- CAPUT III Of the begynning and originall of the people; the great King Powhatan, his description, and sale of his birthright to the English
- CAPUT IV A catalogue of the severall weroances' names, with the name of the particuler province wherein they govern, togither with what forces for the present they are able to furnish their great king, Powhatan, in his warrs
- CAPUT V A true description of the people, of their cullour, attire, ornaments, constitutions, dispositions, etc.
- CAPUT VI The manner of the Virginian government, their townes, their howses, dyett, fowling, and hunting, their gaining, musique, dauncing
- CAPUT VII Of the religion amongst the inhabitants,—their god, their temples, their opinion of the creation of the world, and of the immortalitie of the sowle, of their conjurations and sacrificing of children
- CAPUT VIII Their manner of warrs, and consultations thereabout; of certain prophesies amongst them; of Powhatan's auncient enemies, and how they maie be wrought into league with us, and turned against him, whereby we maie bring him likewise to be in freindship with us; of their bowes, arrowes, and swordes, targetts, drumes; of their phisick and chirurgery
- CAPUT IX Of their æconomick or howshold affaires; how they obteyne their wives; the women's works; and wherefore they contend for rnanie wives
- CAPUT X Of the commodities of the country,—fruicts, trees, beasts, fowle, fish, perle, copper, and mines
- BOOK THE SECOND
- A DICTIONARIE OF THE INDIAN LANGUAGE
- Index
- Plate section
CAPUT VI - The manner of the Virginian government, their townes, their howses, dyett, fowling, and hunting, their gaining, musique, dauncing
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2011
- Frontmatter
- EDITOR's PREFACE
- INTRODUCTION
- LETTER FROM THE LORD DELAWARR
- THE FIRST BOOKE
- A PRÆMONITION TO THE READER
- CAPUT I The Cosmographie of Virginia; latitude and bounds; extention upon a right lyne; first division—the quality of the mountaynes, and description of the high land; subdivided; her temperature, wynds, soyle, valies, plaines, marishes, etc.
- CAPUT II Description of the five principall rivers within the Chesapeak Bay, together with such by-streames which fall into them; a description of the Sasquesahanougs of Cape La Warre; the falling with our coast; the fitness of Cape Comfort to fortefie at
- CAPUT III Of the begynning and originall of the people; the great King Powhatan, his description, and sale of his birthright to the English
- CAPUT IV A catalogue of the severall weroances' names, with the name of the particuler province wherein they govern, togither with what forces for the present they are able to furnish their great king, Powhatan, in his warrs
- CAPUT V A true description of the people, of their cullour, attire, ornaments, constitutions, dispositions, etc.
- CAPUT VI The manner of the Virginian government, their townes, their howses, dyett, fowling, and hunting, their gaining, musique, dauncing
- CAPUT VII Of the religion amongst the inhabitants,—their god, their temples, their opinion of the creation of the world, and of the immortalitie of the sowle, of their conjurations and sacrificing of children
- CAPUT VIII Their manner of warrs, and consultations thereabout; of certain prophesies amongst them; of Powhatan's auncient enemies, and how they maie be wrought into league with us, and turned against him, whereby we maie bring him likewise to be in freindship with us; of their bowes, arrowes, and swordes, targetts, drumes; of their phisick and chirurgery
- CAPUT IX Of their æconomick or howshold affaires; how they obteyne their wives; the women's works; and wherefore they contend for rnanie wives
- CAPUT X Of the commodities of the country,—fruicts, trees, beasts, fowle, fish, perle, copper, and mines
- BOOK THE SECOND
- A DICTIONARIE OF THE INDIAN LANGUAGE
- Index
- Plate section
Summary
Although the country people are very barbarous, yet have they amongst them such governement as that their magistrates for good comaunding, and their people for due subjection and obeying, excell many places that would be counted civill. The forme of their comon wealth, by what hath already bene declared, you maye well gather to be a monarcall governement, where one as emperour ruleth over many kings; their chief ruler likewise for the presente you have heard before how named, and from whence; as also you heard the nomber of his weroances, their forces, and his owne discription; you shall nowe understand how his kingdome descendeth not to his sonns or children, but first to his brethren, whereof he hath (as you have heard) three, and after their decease, to his sisters; first to his eldest sister, then to the rest, and after them to the heires-male and female of the eldest sister, but never to the heires-male.
He nor any of his people understand how to expresse theire mynds by any kynds of letters, to wryte or reade, in barkes of trees, or any other kynd of waye, which necessitye or invention might have instructed them in, as do other barbarians, and some even in these new discoveries; nor have they posetive lawes, only the lawe whereby he ruleth is custome; yet when he pleaseth, his will is a lawe, and must be obeyed, not only as a king, but as half a god, his people esteeme him soe; his inferiour kings are tyed likewise to rule by like customes, and have permitted them power of life and death over theire people, as theire comaund in that nature.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Historie of Travaile into Virginia Britannia; Expressing the Cosmographie and Comodities of the Country, Together with the Manners and Customes of the PeopleAs Collected by William Strachey, Gent., the First Secretary of the Colony, pp. 69 - 81Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010First published in: 1849