HIST 172 Final

The year is 1607. British ships have begun making the three month journey from Europe to the New World, docking on the coastline of central Virginia. Native American tribes in the area had permanent settlements at the time, and were united by their Algonquian language. Previous experience with European colonists from Spain and France made the Native Americans wary of the newcomers, but many still remained friendly, at least in the beginning. You are a young Native American man who is part of the Algonquian speaking tribe called the Chickahominy. Your tribe is established along the Chickahominy River in central Virginia, and is governed by a council of elders. You have a wife and three children, and most days you are hunting and fishing to provide for them and the rest of your tribe. [[An Encounter with the British]]

You are fishing along the Chickahominy River when you remember hearing word of suspicious activity happening along the coastline. Wanting to see it for yourself, you decided to travel further down the river and check it out. Getting closer to the coast, you begin to hear voices speaking in a language you don’t recognize. Through a clearing in the trees, you see a large ship in the water and people carrying objects to shore. You crouch down behind a rock to conceal yourself, and think about what to do. [[You approach the unfamiliar people.]] [[You quickly retreat in order to alert your elders and the rest of your tribe about the newcomers.]]

After quickly gathering your fishing supplies, you begin making your way back through the brush along the river to your tribe to warn others about the unfamiliar people. Once there, you speak with a group of elders who you trust to make a good decision regarding what your tribe should do next. They are all in agreement that your tribe should approach the newcomers to find out why they are here. Your elders ask you to join them in welcoming the strangers since you know where along the coastline they docked. [[Go with your elders and approach the strangers.]] [[Remain behind and protect the clan and your family.]]

You slowly make your way to shore cautiously hiding behind trees and brush as you move towards the ship to get a better look. You see men unloading wooden crates and cargo from the docked shipped and a few women and children coming to shore as well. You decide it’s time to show yourself as these people do not seem to be looking for conflict. When you emerge from your hiding space a man carrying a crate of soft looking material spots you. He yells in an unfamiliar language and the rest of the people drop their things and stare at you curiously. You walk forward with your palms facing them to show you come in peace. You introduce yourself and speak of your nearby tribe, but none of the people can understand you. You reach for your pack and pull out a fish you caught earlier. You offer the man your fish hoping to hint at a trade agreement. The man takes the fish. [[You decide this could be a great opportunity for your tribe to start trade with these foreigners. You take the man and a few others back to your tribe to see what else you can trade.]] [[You are still cautious about these newcomers and rush back to your tribe to report what has happened to the elders.]]

As you and your elders come within eyesight of the people, you notice many of them getting the attention of one male member of their group. Some of them look nervous as you approach, but the male that appears to be in charge is confident as he walks over to you. One of your elders greets him and begins asking where he and his group came from, but it quickly becomes clear that he is unable to understand you. He tries to respond, but the language he speaks is unfamiliar to you. Realizing your tribe won’t be able to orally interact with the newcomers, and sensing they don’t pose much of a threat for the time being, you and your elders retreat back to the rest of your tribe. [[Months pass with some contact between your tribe and the newcomers...]]

The elders meet with the strangers and end up contracting a disease from them. Upon returning to the tribe, you catch the disease one of the leaders has caught and, unfortunately, die an untimely and painful death. End of game.

You hurry back to your tribe to report your encounter with the foreigners. The elders advise you to not have any communication with these people because they are said to be dangerous and carry strange, awful diseases. A year passes with no contact between your tribe and the newcomers, you begin to hear rumors that a neighboring tribe has begun trade with the foreigners. They have been trading pelts and teaching the newcomers the way of the land in exchange for weapons such as guns. You begin to worry since this tribe is exponentially gaining power with their new weapons. It won’t be long before their tribe takes over your own. The rivaling tribe circles in on your territory and and gives you an ultimatum; you can either… [[Join their tribe and abandon your clan.]] [[Stay with your tribe and fight to keep your territory and people safe.]]

Once back on your tribe’s territory, you bring the newcomers to your elders. They are wary at first of the foreigners. They have heard stories from other tribes in your area about interactions with people who looked similar to these not going very well. The new people have unfamiliar weapons strapped to themselves, but still appear to be friendly. Through hand gestures, you are able to discern that they are looking for food. Your elders give them fish, and later the newcomers bring back an unfamiliar plant, which they call “tobacco,” in return. Trade with the foreigners continues for some time in this manner. As they start to trust your tribe more and more, they begin to trade food and furs for a few of the powerful weapons they carry, which they call guns. Your tribe shows them how to plant certain crops that will last through the winter, because, like in the past, this year’s winter season will be particularly harsh. As the cold season quickly approaches, your tribe realizes that the food and other provisions you have been storing for months probably won’t last throughout the winter if you continue to help the newcomers. You and your tribe now have an important choice to make. [[You advise your elders to take pity on the newcomers and continue trading with them, hoping to avoid conflict.]] [[You advise your elders to cease trade with the foreigners, since there is a chance your tribe won’t have enough food for the remainder of the season if you continue.]]

Over the past few months, you and your tribe have been preparing for the upcoming winter season. As you do so, you have been teaching the newcomers how to plant specific crops and hunt for animals that will provide warm furs for the cold winter. You have also engaged in trade with them, exchanging some of the goods your tribe has already gathered for the powerful weapons the foreigners call "guns." Winter is now setting in, and your tribe realizes it will be a particularly harsh one. Snow has begun to fall and the landscape will soon be unsustainable. You and your tribe have been preparing for the season by stockpiling supplies and food. The newcomers were not prepared for the conditions however, and begin asking your tribe to trade food and other provisions for weapons. You do so at first, but your tribe quickly realizes that there is not enough food to sustain both groups, and you must all make a decision to continue helping them or not. [[You advise your elders to take pity on the newcomers and continue trading with them, hoping to avoid conflict.]] [[You advise your elders to cease trade with the foreigners, since there is a chance your tribe won’t have enough food for the remainder of the season if you continue.]]

For a while, helping the newcomers goes smoothly. Soon, however, your tribe faces the same predicament of there not being enough food to sustain everyone. Without any other choice, your elders stop giving food and supplies to the strangers. Weeks pass with no contact between your tribe and the other group. One night you wake up to your wife earnestly shaking your shoulder. Her face is truck with an expression of fear as she tells you to get up. Soon, you hear shouting begin outside your hut, and, concerned, you go outside to see what is going on. You see a few male foreigners whom you had close contact with in trade just a few months prior, running past carrying furs and various pieces of food in their arms. Realizing that they have probably run out of food and are raiding your tribe, you: [[Remain in your hut, arming yourself with a long spear, to protect your wife and young children inside.]] [[Arm yourself and run outside to fight off the thiefs.]]

Weeks pass without incident, until one night, your wife suddenly wakes you. You can tell from the look on her face that she’s afraid. She tells you that there was a noise outside, and a few seconds later, you also hear the strange noises. So you head outside to investigate and see white men running with food and furs in their arms. As you look more closely, you realize that these men are the same foreigners that you ceased trade with a few weeks ago. Realizing that they have probably run out of food and are raiding your tribe, you: [[Remain in your hut, arming yourself with a long spear, to protect your wife and young children inside.]] [[Arm yourself and fight off the thieves.]]

Furious that the newcomers have disrespected your tribe after the kindness you have shown them, you aid other men in your tribe with attempting to catch the thieves. Fighting breaks out, resulting in one of your men being injured by one of the powerful guns the foreigners carry. You stop to help your brother, and in the meantime, the thieves are able to escape. Later that night, you meet with other members of your tribe and your elders and make a plan to take back what the foreigners stole from you; everyone agrees that your brother who was killed in the chaos of the raid deserves justice, and seeking retaliation is a way to gain it. [[A few nights pass, and it is time to seek justice against the newcomers.]]

You decide your best chance at survival is to join the neighboring tribe. They take you and a few others who joined them back to their territory to plan the attack. Once you arrive at their land there is word that the chief has fallen ill. Before you know it an epidemic of smallpox has spread to the entire tribe. You have betrayed your clan for nothing. You watch helplessly as your family dies before your eyes--filled with guilt and remorse, you slowly wither away and die alone.

You decide to stay loyal to your tribe and protect your family. You make sure your children are safe with their mother, then grab your spear, bow, and pack of arrows. You join the men of your tribe to create a unified front against the threatening tribe. Weeks pass and the rivalling tribe still has not attacked. You and your tribe become suspicious and decide to scout out the enemy. You travel on foot to their territory and are shocked at what you see. The entire tribe men, women, and children have all perished from a foreign disease. You and your tribe decide to loot their weapon supply. You return to your tribe with the weapons. A few days pass and the foreigners decide to attack your tribe since they believe you demolished the tribe they were allied with. Since this tribe was providing food for them in exchange for weapons the newcomers decide to raid your territory to gain control over your food supply. You must either… [[Grab your weapons and defend your tribe against the greedy foreigners.]] [[Stay behind and guard your family and food supply.]]

You and the other men in your tribe arm yourselves with spears, stones, and a few guns you were able to trade furs for many months ago, and set off for the colony the foreigners have been building. Despite attempting to be as quiet as possible in the raid, some of the foreigners, who were likely anticipating the attack, rush out to fight you and your tribe off. Chaos ensues, and amidst the fighting, you see several men from both your tribe and the foreigners’ side fall to the ground. It is now, standing in the blood of one of your fallen brothers, that you realize the once friendly relationship your tribe had with the foreigners, will never be the same. Over a year passes with multiple raids and attacks taking place between your tribe and the foreigners. You have heard word from one of your elders that other neighboring tribes have had similar experiences with the foreigners, whose numbers appear to be growing as time goes on. One day, your elders are approached by the chief of the next closest tribe to your own, who explains that war between the foreigners and the tribes in your area is inevitable. He invites your tribe to become his ally in the defeat of the foreigners. You find yourself with another choice to make: [[Join other men of your tribe and attempt to defeat the foreigners once and for all.]] [[Remain behind to protect your family and provide for the members of the tribe who are unable to fight.]]

You begin chasing after the thieves as they run away. You, along with other men from your tribe, begin to slowly gain on them. But suddenly, the thieves split up and go in two different directions. [[Go left]] [[Go right]]

The thieves are run off of your tribe’s territory fairly quickly, and you eventually go outside to join others in talking with the elders to decide what to do next. You and your elders are furious that the foreigners have disrespected your tribe’s hospitality, and plan to retaliate. Together with the rest of the men in your tribe, you make a plan for a few nights later to raid the foreigners camp and take back what they stole from you. You spend the rest of the night on guard and armed outside of your hut in case the foreigners try to return. [[A few nights pass, and it is time to seek justice against the newcomers.]]

Furious at the foreigners who have for years been attacking and killing members of your tribe, you decide the only thing to do is fight. You join the men from the tribes in your area and are led by Chief Powhatan into war with the foreigners. You are able to avenge the deaths of numerous tribe members who were killed by the foreigners as the war continues for multiple months on end. After successfully driving the foreigners off yours and your neighboring tribes’ land, you are able to return to your family. Although the threat of the foreigners is still present and it is not guaranteed that the war is completely over, you are, for the time being at least, safe and alive. [[Credits]]

A few weeks pass as a war is being waged only a few miles away from your tribe’s territory. You spend your nights as an armed watchman outside of your family’s hut, and your days hunting and fishing to provide food for them. One night, the thing that you have been dreading and constantly anticipating happens: your tribe is attacked. You and the few other men that stayed behind from the war for protection are able to successfully drive off the foreigners, but not before one of them shoots you. Your family is safe, but you die a painful death at the hands of the traitors.

Game by: McKenna Hager, Cecilia French, Brandon Hernandez, and Erica Guico Bibliography: Adams, L. C. "The battle of Weyanoke Creek: A story of the third anglo-powhatan war in early Carolina.” Native South, 2013. 170-196. Web. 13 October 2018. Alchin, Linda. “Powhatan Confederacy.” War Paths. Siteseen Limited. 16 January 2018. Web. 14 October 2018. “Algic, Algonkian Indians.” Algonquian Language Family, 2015. Web. 14 October 2018. “Algonquian Peoples.” Legends of America. n.d. Web. 12 October 2018. “Instructions for the Virginia Colony 1606.” American History From Revolution To Reconstruction and Beyond. American History. N.d. Web. 13 October 2018. “Native American Relations & Puritan Settlers.” NCSU. n.d. Web. 14 October 2018. Schmidt, Ethan A. "Hammerers and Rough Masons to Prepare Them: The First Anglo-Powhatan War, 1609–14." In The Divided Dominion: Social Conflict and Indian Hatred in Early Virginia, 45-62. University Press of Colorado, 2015. Web. 13 October 2018. Smith, John and Jay I. Kislak Reference Collection. “The generall historie of Virginia, New England & the Summer Isles: together with The true travels, adventures and observations, and A sea grammar. 1907. Library of Congress. Web. 14 October 2018. “Virginia’s Early Relations with Native Americans.” Library of Congress. n.d. Web. 12 October 2018. Wolfe, Brendan. “First Anglo-Powhatan War (1609–1614).” Encyclopedia Virginia, 30 May 2014. Web. 13 October 2018.

You grab your spear, bow, and arrows and join the fight to protect your tribe. You fight with the newcomers, and die from a gunshot wound.

You stay back to protect your family and food. Many of your tribe’s men die in the fight to protect the outer borders of your territory and they succeed! You and your tribe survive!

You turn left, to attempt to catch some of the thieves. But as you close in on them, you hear a gunshot not to far away. Everyone abandons the chase and heads to where the gunshot came from, only to find that one of the men from you tribe has been shot. You quickly try to stop the wound from bleeding, but it’s too late. A few seconds later, he takes his final breath and dies in your arms. You, along with the rest of the men that survived return to the tribe. The elders are furious: they disrespected your tribe’s hospitality and killed one of your own. You suggest that a retaliation against the foreigners is needed and everyone agrees. Together with the rest of the men in your tribe, you make a plan for a few nights later to raid the foreigners camp and take back what they stole from you. You spend the rest of the night on guard and armed outside of your hut in case the foreigners try to return. [[A few nights pass, and it is time to seek justice against the newcomers.]]

You turn right, to attempt to catch some of the thieves. As you close in, you finally get close enough to strike one of them. But before you can make your move, one of the thieves pulls out a gun and fires it toward you. The bullet hits your chest, and before you know it, you’re on the ground, bleeding out. The rest of the men in your tribe abandon the chase and come to try and help you. But there was nothing they could do. Within a few minutes, you die from loss of blood.