Author: Thomas Hariot

In this excerpt of his account of the 1585–1586 English expedition to Roanoke Island, Thomas Hariot describes “the nature and manners of the people” he encountered there. The Indians of Ossomocomuck were Algonquian, so their language and culture was very similar to the Indians of Tsenacomoco in present-day Tidewater Virginia. Hariot’s account was first published in London in 1588 as A briefe and true report of the new found land of Virginia. Some spelling has been updated and contractions expanded.

In this excerpt of his account of the 1585–1586 English expedition to Roanoke Island, Thomas Hariot describes how diseases hit Indian towns after the English had visited. He also suggests how this phenomenon caused the Indians to wonder why the English never were sick themselves and whether they might be gods instead of men. Hariot’s account was first published in London in 1588 as A briefe and true report of the new found land of Virginia. Some spelling has been updated and contractions expanded.