Epenow
Epenow was an early 17th-century Wampanoag from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts who became an early symbol of resistance against English explorers and slavers.
In 1611, Epenow and two other Martha's Vineyard Wampanoags, together with some twenty-seven other Native Americans from coastal New England were captured by Capt. Edward Harlow and his crew. They were brought to England to sell to potential buyers in Spain, however Epenow was instead brought to the home of Sir Ferdinando Gorges. He was became fluent in English and was on constant public display in London.
Hatching an escape plot, he convinced his English captors of a gold mine on Martha’s Vineyard. In 1614 Gorges commissioned a voyage under Nicholas Hobson, accompanied by Epenow as a guide and translator. Upon arriving to Martha’s Vineyard and reestablishing contact with his family, Epenow dove overboard while under cover of arrows from about twenty canoes full of warriors approaching the ship under the guise of peaceful trading. Capt. Hobson and many of his crew were injured in the battle, and they returned to England empty handed.
Epenow became an important source of anti-English resistance when the Plymouth colonists arrived six years later.
References
- Steele, Ian Kenneth and Rhoden, Nancy Lee. The Human Tradition in Colonial America. Wilmington DE: Scholarly Resources, 1999.
- Drake, Samuel Gardner. Biography and History of the Indians of North America. Boston, 1835.