Opechancanough and His Descendants

Opechancanough was born in the 1540s, as was his brother, Wahunsenacawh, better known as Powhatan, the Indian King and father of Pocahontas. Opechancanough lived near the location of the English settlement of Jamestown when John Smith and company built a fort there in 1607. In English history, he is most famous for planning and executing the first large scale attacks on the English in America. In 1622, he orchestrated a surprise attack on those who lived around Jamestown, resulting in over 300 colonists killed, and in 1644, he led another attack, resulting in over 500 deaths.

In Spanish history, he may be more famous as an Indian youth who was taken to Spain in 1561. He then met the King, was educated by Jesuits, became a missionary, and returned a decade later with Jesuit priests. The young Indian had been christened Don Luis de Velasco, a high compliment because it was the name of the Spanish Lord and Governor of Mexico. The Jesuit robes he wore when he returned to his people were soon discarded as he relapsed to his native culture and helped murder the Jesuits who came with him. Descriptions of him and his people around these events in the mid-1500s, along with the recorded history of Opechancanough by the English in the early 1600s, argue strongly that Don Luis and Opechancanough was the same person.

Opechancanough probably had more English descendants than he did Native Americans, sadly because most died from war and disease brought by European settlers. However, many distinguished Americans descended from him.

This book, Opechancanough and His Descendants, has three parts. The first part is the historical context that Opechancanough lived in, his role in it, and his past as Don Luis de Velasco. The second part covers perceptions of him and his life, and the third part focuses on family traditions and the many Americans that descended from him. Through his daughter, Nicketti, he became the ancestor of four state governors and many more who are proud of their Native American ancestry because of him.