Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2002. Vol. 8. Eger Journal of American Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 28)

Studies - András Tarnóc: Violence as Cultural Projection: The Sociological, Psychological, and Epistemological Implications of the Jamestown Massacre

impression of a lasting peace. As reported by Smith, on March 21, the night before and on the very morning of the Massacre as well, the Powhatan Indians pretending to sell "Deere, Turkies, Fish, Fruits, and other provisions" (Smith 294) entered the settlers' homes unarmed, and sat down to eat at the breakfast table, then suddenly turned against their hosts and "immediatly with their own tooles slew them most barbarously" (Smith 294). Two days earlier they guided the settlers across the forest and even borrowed one of the colonists' boats to transport themselves. Also people were attacked while working on the fields, and the bodies were severely mutilated. Especially noteworthy and gruesome was the murder of Master George Thorp, a Deputy to the College Lands in charge of the conversion of Indians to Christianity, a process during which he treated the Indians like children, punishing them if they misbehaved and dispensing rewards for accepting his instructions. The total death toll was 347, the largest casualties were suffered at Martin's Hundred (73) and Edward Bennett's Plantation (50) (Smith 301). The following sociological theories can be helpful in explaining the dynamics of the attackers' behavior. The contagion concept holds that crowd situations lead to "unanimous and intense feelings and behaviors that are at odds with the usual predispositions of the individual participants" (Turner 1964 in Brinkerhoff-White 557), the convergence theory asserts that crowd action is based on the presence of people sharing a common set of predispositions (BrinkerhoffWhite 558), and according to the resource mobilization theory, social movements arise "when organized groups compete for scarce resources" (Brinkerhoff-White 565). The contagion theory provides an explanation to the brutality of the Indians, as they acted in a group, under the command of Opechancanaugh. The gruesome mutilations appear to be at odds with the generally amiable relationship the Indians maintained with the settlers. The spread of the violence was indeed contagious as a result of circular stimulation originating from Opechancanaugh's character. Opechancanaugh's determination can be deduced from previous events, such as the humiliation he suffered at the hands of John Smith. Opechancanaugh's career, perpetually playing a secondary role first to Powhatan, next to Opitchipan filled him with a tremendous desire to 250