Samuel Argall
Encyclopedia
Sir Samuel Argall was an English
adventurer and naval officer.
As a sea captain, in 1609, Argall was the first to determine a shorter northern route from England across the Atlantic Ocean
to the new English colony
of Virginia, based at Jamestown
, and made numerous voyages to the New World
. He captained one of Lord De La Warr
's ships in the successful rescue mission to Virginia in 1610 which saved the colony from starvation. As a sea warrior, he is best-known for his successful diplomacy with the Powhatan Confederacy. He kidnapped the Chief's daughter, Pocahontas
, as security against the return of English captives and property held by Powhatan on April 13, 1613. Pocahontas had long been a friend of the English and was treated with great respect according to her rank, in the eyes of the English, as an Algonquian Princess. This action eventually resulted in the restoration of peace and trade relations between the English and the Powhatan Confederacy. Argall was also successful in his actions against French efforts at colonisation in Acadia
and North Africa which were upheld in London as violations of the Charter of the Virginia Company
.
Knighted by King James I
, Argall was accused of having been excessively stern in his term as Governor of Virginia and not having the best interests of the planters at heart, but the examinations of his conduct in London and the opinion of some modern historians have questioned these charges.
, Kent
, and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Reginald Scott of Scott’s Hall, one of the foremost houses in Kent.
. Rather than following the normal practice of going south to the tropics and west with the trade winds, Captain Argall sailed west from the Azores to Bermuda
and then almost due west to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay
. His voyage took only nine weeks and six days, including two weeks becalmed. This new route enabled the English to avoid enemy Spanish ships and to save on provisions.
Upon his arrival at Jamestown, Captain Argall found the colonists in dire straits. He resupplied them with all the food he could spare and returned to England at the end of the summer. The help came to the colony at one of the most critical moments in its history, as it began the Starving Time
, during which fewer than one in five survived. However, without the provisions Argall had left, the colony may have been totally destroyed.
reinforced the defences of the English against the sometimes hostile Native Americans in Virginia. Lord De La Warr, as West later became, became so ill that in the spring of 1611 he sailed home to England, and Sir Thomas Dale
took his place as Deputy Governor in charge of the Virginia Colony. When he returned to England, Lord de la Warr wrote a book, The Relation of the Right Honourable the Lord De-La-Warre, of the Colonie, Planted in Virginia, and remained nominally the Royal Governor until his death in 1618.
Serving under Dale, in March 1613, Captain Samuel Argall, who was looking for food for the settlement, sailed up the Potomac River
. There, he traded with the Patawomeck
s, a Native American tribe. They lived at the village of Passapatanzy
near present-day Washington, D.C.
.
When two English colonists began trading with the Patawomecks, they discovered the presence of Pocahontas, the daughter of Wahunsonacock
, Chief of the Powhatan Confederacy. According to a book by Captain John Smith, she had been living there for several years. As soon as he heard this, Argall resolved to kidnap Pocahontas. Sending for the local chief, Japazaws (Kocoum's brother), Argall told him he must bring her on board his ship, and suggested luring her with the present of a copper kettle.
With the help of Japazaws, they tricked Pocahontas into captivity. Their purpose, as they explained in a letter, was to ransom her for some English prisoners held by Chief Powhatan, along with various weapons and farming tools that the Powhatans had stolen. Powhatan returned the prisoners but failed to satisfy the colonists with the amount of weapons and tools he returned, and a long standoff ensued. During the year-long wait, Pocahontas was kept at Henricus
, in modern-day Chesterfield County
. While in captivity, the young Native American princess converted to Christianity through Reverend Alexander Whitaker
, eventually marrying John Rolfe
in 1614. Whitaker renamed her "Rebecca" when she had her baptism. While holding Pocahontas as a hostage had not worked to bring peace with the Powhatans, her marriage did, and era of peace lasted about three years.
. First he eradicated the French Jesuit
colony of Saint-Sauveur on Mount Desert Island
(now in Maine
). After the first of two trips to accomplish this, he carried fourteen prisoners back to Jamestown. He then went on to burn the settlement and the restant structures of an earlier one on Sainte-Croix
(now in Maine) and the occupied site of Port Royal
(now in Nova Scotia
). One of his principle French captives later wrote in praise of Argall's character and conduct. Argall was also the first Englishman to visit Manhattan
where he landed and warned the Dutch of their encroachment upon English territory.
In the Virginia Colony, where he required strict discipline, Argall was viewed as an autocrat who was especially insensitive to the poorer of the colonists. After he served his term as Principal Governor of Virginia beginning in 1617, Lord De La Warr was en route from England to investigate complaints about Argall when he died at sea in 1618. Argall was succeeded by Sir George Yeardley
in 1619 (who named a son Argall in his honor). Back in London, Argall was cleared of these accusations and continued his steady rise at court as a useful servant of King James I.
, which at the time was a French Colony in North Africa. On his return, he was made a member of the Council of New England
. Later he was named admiral for New England.
On 26 June 1622, he was knighted by King James I
. In 1625, he was the admiral of a fleet of 28 vessels which took many prizes off the coast of France and in October commanded the flagship
in an unsuccessful attack on Cadiz
.
Argall was never married. He died at sea on or about 24 January 1626. He left a will dated 23 May 1625, which was proved 21 March 1626. In it he mentions the following relations: sister Filmer, niece Sarah Filmer, nephew Samuel Filmer; sister Bathurst, nephew Samuel Bathurst; sister Fleetwood; brother John Argall Esq and John's son Samuel whose descendants have flourished in Virginia and the West.
His interment was in Penryn, Cornwall
's St Gluvias
churchyard.
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
adventurer and naval officer.
As a sea captain, in 1609, Argall was the first to determine a shorter northern route from England across the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
to the new English colony
English colonial empire
The English colonial empire consisted of a variety of overseas territories colonized, conquered, or otherwise acquired by the former Kingdom of England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries....
of Virginia, based at Jamestown
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
, and made numerous voyages to the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
. He captained one of Lord De La Warr
Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr
Thomas West, 3rd and 12th Baron De La Warr was the Englishman after whom the bay, the river, and, consequently, an American Indian people and U.S. state, all later called "Delaware", were named....
's ships in the successful rescue mission to Virginia in 1610 which saved the colony from starvation. As a sea warrior, he is best-known for his successful diplomacy with the Powhatan Confederacy. He kidnapped the Chief's daughter, Pocahontas
Pocahontas
Pocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
, as security against the return of English captives and property held by Powhatan on April 13, 1613. Pocahontas had long been a friend of the English and was treated with great respect according to her rank, in the eyes of the English, as an Algonquian Princess. This action eventually resulted in the restoration of peace and trade relations between the English and the Powhatan Confederacy. Argall was also successful in his actions against French efforts at colonisation in Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
and North Africa which were upheld in London as violations of the Charter of the Virginia Company
Virginia Company
The Virginia Company refers collectively to a pair of English joint stock companies chartered by James I on 10 April1606 with the purposes of establishing settlements on the coast of North America...
.
Knighted by King James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
, Argall was accused of having been excessively stern in his term as Governor of Virginia and not having the best interests of the planters at heart, but the examinations of his conduct in London and the opinion of some modern historians have questioned these charges.
Childhood
Argall was the son of Richard Argall, a military man of East SuttonEast Sutton
East Sutton is a parish approximately 6 miles south-east of Maidstone in Kent, England. East Sutton is small in number of dwellings but relatively large in area: the parish has a women's prison, a council estate of 16 houses and the church of St Peter and Saint Paul.HMP East Sutton Park is a prison...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Reginald Scott of Scott’s Hall, one of the foremost houses in Kent.
Shorter route to Virginia
In 1609, Argall, as an English ship's captain employed by the Virginia Company of London, was the first to develop a shorter, more northerly route for sailing from England across the Atlantic Ocean to the Virginia Colony and its primary port and seat of government at JamestownJamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
. Rather than following the normal practice of going south to the tropics and west with the trade winds, Captain Argall sailed west from the Azores to Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
and then almost due west to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
. His voyage took only nine weeks and six days, including two weeks becalmed. This new route enabled the English to avoid enemy Spanish ships and to save on provisions.
Upon his arrival at Jamestown, Captain Argall found the colonists in dire straits. He resupplied them with all the food he could spare and returned to England at the end of the summer. The help came to the colony at one of the most critical moments in its history, as it began the Starving Time
Starving Time (Jamestown)
The Starving Time at Jamestown in the Colony of Virginia was a period of forced starvation initiated by the Powhatan Confederacy to remove the English from Virginia. The campaign killed all but 60 of the 500 colonists during the winter of 1609–1610....
, during which fewer than one in five survived. However, without the provisions Argall had left, the colony may have been totally destroyed.
Under Lord de la Warr
Argall arrived back at the Colony in the summer of 1610, when Royal Governor Thomas WestThomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr
Thomas West, 3rd and 12th Baron De La Warr was the Englishman after whom the bay, the river, and, consequently, an American Indian people and U.S. state, all later called "Delaware", were named....
reinforced the defences of the English against the sometimes hostile Native Americans in Virginia. Lord De La Warr, as West later became, became so ill that in the spring of 1611 he sailed home to England, and Sir Thomas Dale
Thomas Dale
Sir Thomas Dale was an English naval commander and deputy-governor of the Virginia Colony in 1611 and from 1614 to 1616. Governor Dale is best remembered for the energy and the extreme rigour of his administration in Virginia, which established order and in various ways seems to have benefited the...
took his place as Deputy Governor in charge of the Virginia Colony. When he returned to England, Lord de la Warr wrote a book, The Relation of the Right Honourable the Lord De-La-Warre, of the Colonie, Planted in Virginia, and remained nominally the Royal Governor until his death in 1618.
Serving under Dale, in March 1613, Captain Samuel Argall, who was looking for food for the settlement, sailed up the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
. There, he traded with the Patawomeck
Patawomeck
The Patawomeck tribe of Virginia Indians is based in Stafford County, Virginia, along the Potomac River . It is one of Virginia's 11 recognized American Indian tribes. It is not federally recognized...
s, a Native American tribe. They lived at the village of Passapatanzy
Passapatanzy, Virginia
Passapatanzy is a census-designated place in King George County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 1,283....
near present-day Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
When two English colonists began trading with the Patawomecks, they discovered the presence of Pocahontas, the daughter of Wahunsonacock
Chief Powhatan
Chief Powhatan , whose proper name was Wahunsenacawh , was the paramount chief of Tsenacommacah, an alliance of Algonquian-speaking Virginia Indians in the Tidewater region of Virginia at the time English settlers landed at Jamestown in 1607...
, Chief of the Powhatan Confederacy. According to a book by Captain John Smith, she had been living there for several years. As soon as he heard this, Argall resolved to kidnap Pocahontas. Sending for the local chief, Japazaws (Kocoum's brother), Argall told him he must bring her on board his ship, and suggested luring her with the present of a copper kettle.
With the help of Japazaws, they tricked Pocahontas into captivity. Their purpose, as they explained in a letter, was to ransom her for some English prisoners held by Chief Powhatan, along with various weapons and farming tools that the Powhatans had stolen. Powhatan returned the prisoners but failed to satisfy the colonists with the amount of weapons and tools he returned, and a long standoff ensued. During the year-long wait, Pocahontas was kept at Henricus
Henricus
The "Citie of Henricus" — also known as Henricopolis or Henrico Town or Henrico — was a settlement founded by Sir Thomas Dale in 1611 as an alternative to the swampy and dangerous area around the original English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia...
, in modern-day Chesterfield County
Chesterfield County, Virginia
Chesterfield County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. In 2010, its population was estimated to be 316,236. Chesterfield County is now the fourth-largest municipality in Virginia . Its county seat is Chesterfield...
. While in captivity, the young Native American princess converted to Christianity through Reverend Alexander Whitaker
Alexander Whitaker
Alexander Whitaker was a Christian theologian who settled in North America in Virginia Colony in 1611 and established two churches near the Jamestown colony, and was known as "The Apostle of Virginia" by contemporaries....
, eventually marrying John Rolfe
John Rolfe
John Rolfe was one of the early English settlers of North America. He is credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the Colony of Virginia and is known as the husband of Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Confederacy.In 1961, the Jamestown...
in 1614. Whitaker renamed her "Rebecca" when she had her baptism. While holding Pocahontas as a hostage had not worked to bring peace with the Powhatans, her marriage did, and era of peace lasted about three years.
Raid on Acadia
After the capture of Pocahontas, later in 1613, under orders from London, Argall began to raid AcadiaAcadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
. First he eradicated the French Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
colony of Saint-Sauveur on Mount Desert Island
Mount Desert Island
Mount Desert Island , in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 6th largest island in the contiguous United States. Though it is often claimed to be the third largest island on the eastern seaboard of the United States, it is actually second...
(now in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
). After the first of two trips to accomplish this, he carried fourteen prisoners back to Jamestown. He then went on to burn the settlement and the restant structures of an earlier one on Sainte-Croix
Saint Croix Island, Maine
Saint Croix Island , long known to locals as Dochet Island, is a small uninhabited island in Maine near the mouth of the Saint Croix River that forms part of the International Boundary separating Maine from New Brunswick....
(now in Maine) and the occupied site of Port Royal
Port Royal, Nova Scotia
Port Royal was the capital of Acadia from 1605 to 1710 and is now a town called Annapolis Royal in the western part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Initially Port Royal was located on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin, Nova Scotia, at the site of the present reconstruction of the...
(now in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
). One of his principle French captives later wrote in praise of Argall's character and conduct. Argall was also the first Englishman to visit Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
where he landed and warned the Dutch of their encroachment upon English territory.
In the Virginia Colony, where he required strict discipline, Argall was viewed as an autocrat who was especially insensitive to the poorer of the colonists. After he served his term as Principal Governor of Virginia beginning in 1617, Lord De La Warr was en route from England to investigate complaints about Argall when he died at sea in 1618. Argall was succeeded by Sir George Yeardley
George Yeardley
Sir George Yeardley was a plantation owner and three time colonial Governor of the British Colony of Virginia. A survivor of the Virginia Company of London's ill-fated Third Supply Mission, whose flagship, the Sea Venture, was shipwrecked on Bermuda for 10 months in 1609-10, he is best remembered...
in 1619 (who named a son Argall in his honor). Back in London, Argall was cleared of these accusations and continued his steady rise at court as a useful servant of King James I.
Fighting the French, New England, Knighthood
In 1620 he was captain of a merchant vessel which took part in an expedition against AlgiersAlgiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, which at the time was a French Colony in North Africa. On his return, he was made a member of the Council of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. Later he was named admiral for New England.
On 26 June 1622, he was knighted by King James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
. In 1625, he was the admiral of a fleet of 28 vessels which took many prizes off the coast of France and in October commanded the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
in an unsuccessful attack on Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
.
Argall was never married. He died at sea on or about 24 January 1626. He left a will dated 23 May 1625, which was proved 21 March 1626. In it he mentions the following relations: sister Filmer, niece Sarah Filmer, nephew Samuel Filmer; sister Bathurst, nephew Samuel Bathurst; sister Fleetwood; brother John Argall Esq and John's son Samuel whose descendants have flourished in Virginia and the West.
His interment was in Penryn, Cornwall
Penryn, Cornwall
Penryn is a civil parish and town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the Penryn River about one mile northwest of Falmouth...
's St Gluvias
St Gluvias
St Gluvias is a civil parish and settlement in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is now a suburb on the northern edge of Penryn which is situated two miles northwest of Falmouth.-Church history:...
churchyard.
Fictional Representations
- Argall (voiced by Kevin Farrell) appears in the Animated Hero ClassicsAnimated Hero ClassicsAnimated Hero Classics is an educational Animated television series of programs co-produced by Nest Family Entertainment and Warner Bros. The series, geared toward elementary school aged children, includes twenty biographies of both female and male scientists, inventors, explorers, and social...
1994 episode Pocahontas, but is absent in Pocahontas II: Journey to a New WorldPocahontas II: Journey to a New WorldPocahontas II: Journey to a New World is a 1998 straight-to-video sequel to the 1995 Disney film Pocahontas. The film is inspired by true events in the life of Pocahontas which took place several years after her encounter with John Smith and the founders of Jamestown...
, a direct-to-video sequel to the Disney animated filmPocahontas (1995 film)Pocahontas is the 33rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to selected theaters on June 16, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures...
. - Yorick van WageningenYorick van WageningenYorick van Wageningen is a Dutch actor.After acting in several Dutch plays, movies, and television series, van Wageningen was asked to come to Hollywood to appear in Steven Spielberg's Minority Report. Due to problems with his visa, he was unable to work on that movie in the United States....
portrays Argall in New Line CinemaNew Line CinemaNew Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
's 2005 film The New World.
Source
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography
- The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants, Gary Boyd Roberts, 2004, Genealogical Publishing Company