John Ratcliffe
Encyclopedia
John Ratcliffe was captain of the Discovery
, one of three ships that sailed from England
on December 19, 1606, to Virginia
, to found a colony
, arriving May 13, 1607. He later became the second president of the colony which later became Jamestown. He was killed by the Powhatan
Indians.
He commanded the Discovery and became a councillor of the Jamestown Colony. He became president of the colony upon the deposition of Edward Maria Wingfield
on September 10, 1607. Ratcliffe himself was removed in July 1608, and was succeeded by Matthew Scrivener
.
Ratcliffe was elected president and asked John Smith
to organize work details and expeditions to trade with Native Americans. By January 1608, only 40 colonists were alive and Ratcliffe and the Council planned to return to England on the Discovery. Ratcliffe's overgenerous trading provoked Smith to complain that they would soon run out of items to trade.
Ratcliffe accompanied Christopher Newport
when he sailed from Virginia in 1608. He commanded the Diamond, one of the ships in the fleet of Sir Thomas Gates.
During the governorship of George Percy
, in October 1609, Ratcliffe was sent to build a fort at Old Point Comfort
.
In December 1609, he traveled off with his 15 fellow men to trade with the Native Americans for food. It is said that he was led into an ambush and killed, along with 14 of his men, at Werowocomoco
on the York River
.
There is documented evidence in Beaufort County, North Carolina of a John Ratcliff owning hundreds of acres of land which are documented to be given out only to the colonists. The colonists from Roanoke and Jamestown were the only English-Europeans in North Carolina in the 17th century. It is believed that every man from Roanoke was killed off by the Indians leaving only the colonists from Jamestown to take ownership over the land.
Although John Ratcliffe was a very popular name during Jamestown's first years, there were only two that arrived. The John Ratcliffe that was not suspected to have been killed can be traced back to the northern Virginia area. This John Ratcliffe that was supposed to have been killed by the Native Americans is the most likely grantee of this land. It is very possible that there was some other man by this name who claimed the North Carolina land who was not on the ship records at Jamestown, however, it is not very probable.
Pocahontas
as Governor Ratcliffe, a greedy corrupt man who was the main antagonist
. Here, he was voiced by Disney Legend David Ogden Stiers
. In this adaptation, he is accompanied by the dog Percy (this name derived from George Percy) and by his servant Wiggins. He also appeared in the straight-to-video sequel Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World
.
Discovery (1602 ship)
Discovery was a 20-ton "fly-boat" of the British East India Company, launched before 1602.Discovery was the smallest of three ships that were led by Captain Christopher Newport on the voyage that resulted in the founding of Jamestown in the new Colony of Virginia in 1607...
, one of three ships that sailed from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on December 19, 1606, to Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, to found a colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
, arriving May 13, 1607. He later became the second president of the colony which later became Jamestown. He was killed by the Powhatan
Powhatan
The Powhatan is the name of a Virginia Indian confederation of tribes. It is estimated that there were about 14,000–21,000 of these native Powhatan people in eastern Virginia when the English settled Jamestown in 1607...
Indians.
Biography
Ratcliffe was also known as Sicklemore, which was probably his real name. His mother probably first married a Sicklemore, and then a Ratcliffe. It was common at the time for a man to write his name with an alias when his mother married a second time.He commanded the Discovery and became a councillor of the Jamestown Colony. He became president of the colony upon the deposition of Edward Maria Wingfield
Edward Maria Wingfield
Sir Edward Maria Wingfield, sometimes hyphenated as Edward-Maria Wingfield, was a soldier, Member of Parliament, and English colonist in America...
on September 10, 1607. Ratcliffe himself was removed in July 1608, and was succeeded by Matthew Scrivener
Matthew Scrivener
Matthew Scrivener was an English colonist in Virginia. He served briefly as acting governor of Jamestown, when he was succeeded by Captain John Smith...
.
Ratcliffe was elected president and asked John Smith
John Smith
John Smith is a name often regarded as the archetype of a common personal name in most English-speaking countries, a generic name sometimes representing "everyman" or "the average person."...
to organize work details and expeditions to trade with Native Americans. By January 1608, only 40 colonists were alive and Ratcliffe and the Council planned to return to England on the Discovery. Ratcliffe's overgenerous trading provoked Smith to complain that they would soon run out of items to trade.
Ratcliffe accompanied Christopher Newport
Christopher Newport
Christopher Newport was an English seaman and privateer. He is best known as the captain of the Susan Constant, the largest of three ships which carried settlers for the Virginia Company in 1607 on the way to find the settlement at Jamestown in the Virginia Colony, which became the first permanent...
when he sailed from Virginia in 1608. He commanded the Diamond, one of the ships in the fleet of Sir Thomas Gates.
During the governorship of George Percy
George Percy
George Percy was an English explorer, author, and early Colonial Governor of Virginia.-Early life:George Percy was born in England, the youngest son of Henry Percy, 2nd/8th Earl of Northumberland and Lady Catherine Neville. He was sickly for much of his life, possibly suffering from epilepsy or...
, in October 1609, Ratcliffe was sent to build a fort at Old Point Comfort
Old Point Comfort
Old Point Comfort is a point of land located in the independent city of Hampton. It lies at the extreme tip of the Virginia Peninsula at the mouth of Hampton Roads in the United States....
.
In December 1609, he traveled off with his 15 fellow men to trade with the Native Americans for food. It is said that he was led into an ambush and killed, along with 14 of his men, at Werowocomoco
Werowocomoco
Werowocomoco was a village that served as the political center of the Powhatan Paramount Chiefdom, a grouping of about 30 Virginia Indian tribes speaking an Algonquian language...
on the York River
York River (Virginia)
The York River is a navigable estuary, approximately long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. It ranges in width from at its head to near its mouth on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed drains an area including portions of 17 counties of the coastal plain of Virginia north...
.
There is documented evidence in Beaufort County, North Carolina of a John Ratcliff owning hundreds of acres of land which are documented to be given out only to the colonists. The colonists from Roanoke and Jamestown were the only English-Europeans in North Carolina in the 17th century. It is believed that every man from Roanoke was killed off by the Indians leaving only the colonists from Jamestown to take ownership over the land.
Although John Ratcliffe was a very popular name during Jamestown's first years, there were only two that arrived. The John Ratcliffe that was not suspected to have been killed can be traced back to the northern Virginia area. This John Ratcliffe that was supposed to have been killed by the Native Americans is the most likely grantee of this land. It is very possible that there was some other man by this name who claimed the North Carolina land who was not on the ship records at Jamestown, however, it is not very probable.
Documented history by an eyewitness
The story of Captain Ratcliffe was documented in an eyewitness account that is included in The Jamestown Adventure: Accounts of the Virginia Colony, 1605-1614 (Real Voices, Real History), edited by Ed Southern.In popular culture
Ratcliffe was portrayed in Disney'sThe Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
Pocahontas
Pocahontas (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...
as Governor Ratcliffe, a greedy corrupt man who was the main antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
. Here, he was voiced by Disney Legend David Ogden Stiers
David Ogden Stiers
David Ogden Stiers is an American actor, director, vocal actor, and musician, noted for his roles in Disney movies, as well as his performances in the television series M*A*S*H as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III and the science fiction drama The Dead Zone as Reverend Gene Purdy...
. In this adaptation, he is accompanied by the dog Percy (this name derived from George Percy) and by his servant Wiggins. He also appeared in the straight-to-video sequel Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World
Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World
Pocahontas 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...
.
Sources
- Jamestown http://www.historyisfun.org/index.htm
- Beaufort County Court House, 112 W Second St, Washington, NC 27889-1403, Public Records, Log of Transactions
- Raymond F. Dolle, "Captain John Smith's Satire of Sir Walter Raleigh"
- David Morenus, "The Real Pocahontas"
- "Virginia Records Timeline: 1553-1743", United State Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Papers
- Price, David A., Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation (New York: Knopf, 2003)
- Property Records from Beaufort County Courthouse, North Carolina
- John Ratcliffe
- The Jamestown Adventure: Accounts of the Virginia Colony, 1605-1614 (Real Voices, Real History) by Ed Southern (Editor) (Winston-Salem NC: Blair, 2004)