A Trewe Relacyon of the Pcedeinges and Ocurrentes of Momente wch have hapned in Virginia from the Tyme Sr Thomas GATES was shippwrackte uppon the BERMUDES ano 1609 untill my depture outt of the Country wch was in ano Dñi 1612 by George Percy. 1612. Online. December 14, 2023.
George Percy was one of the original 105 founding members of the Virginia colony. This letter is about his experiences there. A lot of the Vespucci canabalism is probably made up, but I discovered that there is actually way more historical evidence of European colonists resorting to cannibalism to stave off hunger, which is what led me to read this. I wanted to read about Starving Time in Jamestown.The letter is around 8,000 words long.
I couldn’t figure out a few words here & there, but I would usually much rather read Renaissance literature without modernized spelling than a modernized version, it takes something away from it for me.
“If we Trewley Consider the diversety of miseries mutenies & famishmentts wch have Attended upon discoveries & plantacyons in theis our moderne Tymes we shall nott fynde our plantacyon in Virginia to have Suffered Aloane.”
“MAGELANE Suffered also in soe mutche thatt haveinge eaten upp all their horses to susteine themselves wthall, mutenies did Aryse & growe Amongste them for the wch the generall DIEGO MENDOSA cawsed some of them to be executed Extremety of hunger in forceinge other secrettly in the night to cutt downe Their deade fellowes from of the gallowes & bury them in their hungry Bowelles.” – BURY THEM IN THEIR HUNGRY BOWELS
What Native Americans did to a few colonists: “...their Braynes weare cutt & skraped outt of their heades wth mussell shelles…”
Recounting of story about a Spanish governer: “the Indyans inforced him to drincke upp A certeine quantety of melted gowlde useinge theis words unto him: now glutt thy selfe wth gowlde” Drinking the liquid gold killed him, which of course would be boiling hot. I remember hearing about this story before: “Molten gold was poured down his throat until his bowels burst” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1769869/ This is an article where some scientists determined that the governor’s bowels might have burst from a buildup of steam in the intestines.)
“...digge up dead corpses outt of graves & to eate them & some have Licked upp the Bloode wch hathe fallen from their weake fellowes & amongste the reste this was moste Lamentable Thatt one of our Colline murdered his wyfe Ripped the childe outt of her woambe & threw itt into the River & after chopped the Mother in pieces & salted her for his foode The same not beinge discovered before he had eaten Pte thereof for the wch crewell & inhumane factt I aiudged him to be executed the acknowledgmt of the dede beinge inforced from him by torture haveinge hunge by the Thumbes wth weightes att his feete a quarter of an howere before he wolde confesse the same.”
“Hughe PRYSE being pinched wth extreme famin In A furious distracted moode did come openly into the markett place Blaspheameinge exclameinge & cryeinge owtt thatt there was noe god. Alledgeinge that if there were A god he wolde nott suffer his creatures whom he had made & framed to indure those miseries & to Pishe for wante of foods & sustenance Butt itt appeared the same day that the Almighty was displeased wth him for goeinge thatt afternoone wth A Butcher A corpulentt fatt man into the woods to seke for some Reliefe bothe of them weare slaine by Salvages. & after beinge fownde gods Indignacyon was showed upon PRYSES Corpes wch was Rente in pieces wth wolves or other wylde Beasts & his Bowles Torne outt of his boddy beinge A Leane spare man & the fatt Butcher nott lyeinge Above sixe yardes from him was fownd altogether untouched onely by the Salvages Arrowes whereby he Receiaved his deathe.”
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