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Early American Studies
The Head in Edward Nugent's Hand: Roanoke's Forgotten Indians
Roanoke is part of the lore of early America, the colony that disappeared. Many Americans know of Sir Walter Ralegh's ill-fated expedition, but few know about the Algonquian peoples who were the island's inhabitants. The Head in Edward Nugent's Hand examines Ralegh's plan to create an English empire in the New World but also the attempts of native peoples to make sense of the newcomers who threatened to transform their world in frightening ways. Beginning his narrative well before Ralegh's arrival, Michael Leroy Oberg looks closely at the Indians who first encountered the colonists. The English intruded into a well-established Native American world at Roanoke, led by Wingina, the weroance, or leader, of the Algonquian peoples on the island. Oberg also pays close attention to how the weroance and his people understood the arrival of the we watch as Wingina's brother first boards Ralegh's ship, and we listen in as Wingina receives the report of its arrival. Driving the narrative is the leader's ultimate Wingina is decapitated by one of Ralegh's men in the summer of 1586. When the story of Roanoke is recast in an effort to understand how and why an Algonquian weroance was murdered, and with what consequences, we arrive at a more nuanced and sophisticated understanding of what happened during this, the dawn of English settlement in America.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
224 pages, Hardcover
First published October 3, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 2, 2011
The best narrative history of the Roanoke colonies, and I've read 'em all. Occasionally the conceit about the head gets a little too cute, but overall this book is packed with detail and well-reasoned analysis. If you get one book on Roanoke, this is the best one.
October 22, 2012
I loved this book. A very good and different picture of the "Lost Colony" of Roanoke.
February 14, 2021
For HON 297
Great recounting of how Sir Ralegh and the ‘lost colony’ was only a small part of Roanoke’s story, which is really an Algonquian story.
Great recounting of how Sir Ralegh and the ‘lost colony’ was only a small part of Roanoke’s story, which is really an Algonquian story.
April 20, 2013
Michael Leroy Oberg’s book accomplishes two objectives. It tells the story of Sir Walter Raleigh’s failed attempts to establish an English outpost/settlement on the North Carolina coast between the years 1584 and 1587. It examines the native population’s culture and way of life and emphasizes how that culture determined native responses to English interference.
Raleigh wanted to use the outpost as a base for privateers to attack Spanish treasure ships; utilize the natural resources of the land to benefit Queen Elizabeth, his financial backers, and himself; and discover a water passage to the Pacific Ocean. Accomplishing these objectives assumed that the Carolina coastal natives could be civilized and converted to Christianity. Treated patiently and kindly, exposed to the benefits of a far more advanced culture, the natives would surely adapt.
Oberg demonstrates that the Algonquian culture -- based on religious concepts, ritual and a harmonious, balanced way of living influenced by natural resources unique to the environment, a culture established centuries ago -- was too strong to be altered. Friction, not assimilation, resulted.
Unforeseen events contributed greatly, as well, to Raleigh’s failure. The newcomers in 1585 brought disease that killed 50 to 70 percent of the inhabitants of native communities with whom they made contact. A severe drought limited considerably the corn crop upon which the natives greatly depended. The 1585 expedition brought to Roanoke Island over a hundred aggressive men most of whom were soldiers trained solely to wage war. Most of the colony’s food supply for the remainder of the year was ruined by sea water when the ship containing the food, upon its arrival, ran aground. This caused the settlement’s leader to pressure the Roanoke natives continuously for assistance. Ultimately, the Roanoke weroance Wingina withdrew his community to the mainland, having come to the conclusion that the English brought to his people not advantages but hardship and death.
Believing mistakenly that the Roanoke weroance had conspired with other Indian settlements to attack him, the colony’s governor, Ralph Lane, had his soldiers slaughter most of the natives in Wingina’s mainland village. One of his soldiers, Edward Nugent, cut off Wingina’s head. Two weeks later, the entire colony sailed back to England.
The third attempt (1587) to establish a settlement was led by the artist and idealist John White, who had participated in the previous two expeditions. His settlers were mostly civilians, lower middleclass people of London seeking an independent, improved existence. White was forced by the fleet’s pilot to disembark on Roanoke Island instead of continuing on to locate a settlement on the south bank of Chesapeake Bay, as had been intended. Misunderstanding and miscommunication caused White and his settlers to attack the one remaining native people friendly to Englishmen. White was forced to return to England soon afterward to arrange for ships and supplies to transport his colony to the Chesapeake Bay. War with Spain prevented him from returning until 1590. He found Roanoke Island deserted. A message carved in wood suggested that the colony had moved south to the Indian village Croatoan on the Outer Bank. The next day a severe storm deprived White of the chance to investigate. His ship, driven well out into the Atlantic, returned to England. He never returned.
Other books about the Roanoke settlements provide this information. What is unique about Oberg’s book is his detailed explanation of why the native coastal populations were resistant to English encroachment. In his epilogue, he writes: “We know that many factors contributed to the failure of Sir Walter Raleigh’s Roanoke ventures. … All these explanations … overlook an important and fundamental truth: Raleigh’s Roanoke ventures failed because those native people in Ossomocomuck who initially had welcomed the newcomers decided to withdraw their support and assistance from strange people whom they now viewed as a mortal threat to their way of life.”
I especially appreciated Oberg’s laying out of most all of the explanations that historians have offered of why and where White’s “lost” settlers “disappeared.” He also explains how the coastal Carolina natives lost their land, culture, and identity over the succeeding two centuries. I recommend this book to anybody having a genuine interest in early English attempts to establish colonies in North America.
Raleigh wanted to use the outpost as a base for privateers to attack Spanish treasure ships; utilize the natural resources of the land to benefit Queen Elizabeth, his financial backers, and himself; and discover a water passage to the Pacific Ocean. Accomplishing these objectives assumed that the Carolina coastal natives could be civilized and converted to Christianity. Treated patiently and kindly, exposed to the benefits of a far more advanced culture, the natives would surely adapt.
Oberg demonstrates that the Algonquian culture -- based on religious concepts, ritual and a harmonious, balanced way of living influenced by natural resources unique to the environment, a culture established centuries ago -- was too strong to be altered. Friction, not assimilation, resulted.
Unforeseen events contributed greatly, as well, to Raleigh’s failure. The newcomers in 1585 brought disease that killed 50 to 70 percent of the inhabitants of native communities with whom they made contact. A severe drought limited considerably the corn crop upon which the natives greatly depended. The 1585 expedition brought to Roanoke Island over a hundred aggressive men most of whom were soldiers trained solely to wage war. Most of the colony’s food supply for the remainder of the year was ruined by sea water when the ship containing the food, upon its arrival, ran aground. This caused the settlement’s leader to pressure the Roanoke natives continuously for assistance. Ultimately, the Roanoke weroance Wingina withdrew his community to the mainland, having come to the conclusion that the English brought to his people not advantages but hardship and death.
Believing mistakenly that the Roanoke weroance had conspired with other Indian settlements to attack him, the colony’s governor, Ralph Lane, had his soldiers slaughter most of the natives in Wingina’s mainland village. One of his soldiers, Edward Nugent, cut off Wingina’s head. Two weeks later, the entire colony sailed back to England.
The third attempt (1587) to establish a settlement was led by the artist and idealist John White, who had participated in the previous two expeditions. His settlers were mostly civilians, lower middleclass people of London seeking an independent, improved existence. White was forced by the fleet’s pilot to disembark on Roanoke Island instead of continuing on to locate a settlement on the south bank of Chesapeake Bay, as had been intended. Misunderstanding and miscommunication caused White and his settlers to attack the one remaining native people friendly to Englishmen. White was forced to return to England soon afterward to arrange for ships and supplies to transport his colony to the Chesapeake Bay. War with Spain prevented him from returning until 1590. He found Roanoke Island deserted. A message carved in wood suggested that the colony had moved south to the Indian village Croatoan on the Outer Bank. The next day a severe storm deprived White of the chance to investigate. His ship, driven well out into the Atlantic, returned to England. He never returned.
Other books about the Roanoke settlements provide this information. What is unique about Oberg’s book is his detailed explanation of why the native coastal populations were resistant to English encroachment. In his epilogue, he writes: “We know that many factors contributed to the failure of Sir Walter Raleigh’s Roanoke ventures. … All these explanations … overlook an important and fundamental truth: Raleigh’s Roanoke ventures failed because those native people in Ossomocomuck who initially had welcomed the newcomers decided to withdraw their support and assistance from strange people whom they now viewed as a mortal threat to their way of life.”
I especially appreciated Oberg’s laying out of most all of the explanations that historians have offered of why and where White’s “lost” settlers “disappeared.” He also explains how the coastal Carolina natives lost their land, culture, and identity over the succeeding two centuries. I recommend this book to anybody having a genuine interest in early English attempts to establish colonies in North America.
April 30, 2015
Wow, what a story. If you think you know the story of the lost colony of Roanoke think again.
October 14, 2023
Historical nonfiction at its best!
June 18, 2024
A must read for people who teach North Carolina history. A great example of how to recenter the story of The Lost Colony from a Native perspective.
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May 2, 2016I only read the last fifty or so pages and skimmed the rest. I wanted to see what it said about the lost colony. Turns out nothing I hadn't read before. Theories abound, but not enough evidence to say one way or another. Since the book is primarily about the Indians of Roanoke and I didn't read most of it I won't give it a star rating.
July 16, 2012
Many people in my class were much more impressed than I was. But it wasn't a bad read and had some good insite and information
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews