Virginien. 155 / Sasquesahanok

Title

Virginien. 155 / Sasquesahanok

Description

Illustration shows a fortified settlement of the Susquehannock tribe in Virginia. From "De Nieuwe en Onbekende Weereld".

ca. 1671

Artist

Montanus (1625-1683)

Arnold Montanus (1625-1683) was a Dutch theologian and historian. In addition to extensive editorial work, he has written numerous historical treatises dealing with the peoples and culture of the New World and the overseas activities of the Dutch. Although he never left Europe himself, his books, translated into many languages, had a great influence on the European perception of the area concerned. De Nieuwe en Onbekende Weereld (The Unknown New World) and Gedenkwardige Gesantschappen der Oost-Indische Maatschappy in′t Vereenigde Nederland (Memorable Embassies of the East Indian Society in the United Netherlands) are his best known writings. He published Guiccardini's description of the Netherlands in Dutch in 1612, translated Giovanni Gioviano Pontano's (Pontanus) description of the trading city of Amsterdam from Latin in 1614, and published Mercator's Cosmographicae Meditationes in 1621. The additions to the text in Hondius' edition of Mercator's great atlas are probably also from his pen. Montanus bought seafarers and employees of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC) information and travel reports, and published them in 1669 in the publishing house of Jacob van Meurs (1619–1680).

Historical Description

Virginia received its name in honor of Queen Elizabeth I of England from Walter Raleigh during his expedition in 1584, when he founded the first settlement on Roanoke Island.Of the native peoples of Virginia, the best known are the Powhatan belonging to the Virginia Algonkin who lived near the coast. Other groups included Nottaway and Meherrin, members of the Iroquois family, southwest of them, Monacan and Saponi, members of the Sioux family, who lived in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, and Cherokee in the far west of the state. The first attempts at settlement by the English took place in Virginia. However, these first attempts were not made by the English government, but by a company called the Virginia Company, which founded the Jamestown settlement in 1607. At that time the English government lacked the money to finance such expensive and unsafe expeditions. Initially, the attempts to colonize were only moderately successful. During the English Powhatan Wars, the colony came under severe pressure. The year 1612 was an economically very important year. John Rolfe planted the first tobacco plant, which he had probably brought from Trinidad, in Virginia. Due to the hot and humid climate and the help of the indigenous population, the tobacco plants thrive splendidly. Rolfe, who had married an indigenous woman named Pocahontas in 1614, made his way to England in 1616 with the first batch of tobacco, where he was a resounding success. In 1617 he returned to Virginia to continue growing tobacco, but without Pocahontas, who had died in England. Rolfe had triggered the first boom in the new English world. As the home of many founding fathers, particularly Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, James Madison, George Mason and George Washington, Virginia played a prominent role in the American independence movement.