Editing Roanoke Colony (section)

===1625: Samuel Purchas===
[[File:1622 massacre jamestown de Bry.jpg|thumb|[[Indian massacre of 1622|Powhatan attack]] on Jamestown]]

After the Powhatan [[Indian massacre of 1622|attacked Jamestown]] in 1622, there was a dramatic shift in English commentary on Native Americans, as writers increasingly questioned their humanity. The [[London Company]] sponsored propaganda arguing that the massacre had justified [[genocide|genocidal]] retaliation, in order to assure potential backers that their investment in the colony would be safe.{{Sfn|Cain|2001|pp= 453–454}}{{Sfn|Kupperman|1977|p= 265}}

In this context, [[Samuel Purchas]] wrote ''Virginia's Verger'' in 1625, asserting England's right to possess and exploit its North American claim. He argued that the natives, as a race, had forfeited their right to the land through bloodshed, citing the 1586 ambush of Grenville's garrison, an alleged attack on White's colonists, and the 1622 Jamestown massacre. Purchas offered no evidence for his claim about the 1587 colony except to state, "Powhatan confessed to Cap. Smith, that hee had beene at their slaughter, and had divers utensills of theirs to shew."{{Sfn|Purchas|1625|pp=228–229}}

It is possible Smith related the story of Wahunsenacawh's confession to Purchas, as they are known to have spoken together. Smith's own writings, however, never mention the confession, leaving Purchas' claim to stand alone in what historian Helen Rountree dismisses as "an anti-Indian [[polemic]]".{{Sfn|Rountree|1990|pp= 21–22}} Even if taken at face value, the alleged confession is not persuasive, as Wahunsenacawh might have invented the story in an attempt to intimidate Smith. The European artifacts allegedly offered as "proof" of a raid on the Roanoke colonists could just as easily have been obtained from other sources, such as [[Ajacán Mission|Ajacán]].{{Sfn|Parramore|2001|p= 71}}