April 1, 2009
A weroan or great Lorde of Virginia
Engraving by De Bry (printed 1590) based on watercolor by White.
Courtesy of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University.
“I have thought that I could find no better occasion to declare it,
than taking the pains to cut in copper (the most diligently and well
that was in my possible to do) the Figures which do lovely represent
the form and manner of the Inhabitants of the same country with their
ceremonies, solemne feasts, and the manner and situation of their
Towns, or Villages. Adding unto every figure a brief declaration of the
same, to that end that every man could the better understand that which
is in lively represented.”
–From a 1590 letter from Theodor de Bry to Sir Walter Raleigh—A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia
More De Bry engravings can be found here.
How did the English picture the native peoples of America during the early phases of colonization of North America? Where did theseconceptions come from and how accurate were they? How much influence did they have on the subsequent development of relations between the two groups?
