1.4: Stephen Hopkins, Peacemaker of Plymouth

The Mayflower left England in 1620 bound for North America with a passenger list that has been categorized as made up of "Saints" and "Strangers."  Some were completing this crossing in an effort to separate themselves from what was, in their minds, was a corrupt Church of England, while others made the journey for reasons that weren't explicitly religious.  However, one passenger had already made this crossing one decade earlier; this individual previously made his way to Jamestown by way of an unexpected detour of the Caribbean, all the while acquiring skills that would make him an indispensable member of the legendary Plymouth Colony.  Episode 1.4 of History: Beyond the Textbook focuses on the adventures of Stephen Hopkins the Peacemaker of Plymouth.

Key People
Stephen Hopkins, religious clerk and entrepreneur
Samoset, Abenaki sagamore
John Rolfe, English businessman 

Key Events
Voyage of the Mayflower
Establishment of Plymouth Colony
Jamestown's "Starving Time"

The third season of History: Beyond the Textbook focuses on the stories of individuals who shaped "America's Crucial Years" of 1783-1790, and runs from October 8-December 24. Catch up on Season One, "America's Colonial Era," and Season Two, "America's Revolution," wherever you listen to your podcasts!

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Transcript

The series of events was, and to a large degree, is still known, to schoolchildren throughout the United States.  Seeking religious freedom, several dozen brave souls journeyed across the North Atlantic on their ship, the Mayflower.  They eventually landed at Plymouth Rock along the New England coast, struggled mightily during those first few months to the point of near extinction, but were saved thanks to the benevolence of the nearby Wampanoag.  They celebrated what became known as the first Thanksgiving to commemorate a bountiful harvest and give thanks to God for allowing them to survive in this new, seemingly unforgiving land.  The two sides, English Pilgrims and Wampanoag, eventually forged a peace that lasted into the next generation; a stark change from the rampant conflict that normally plagued relations between English settlers and indigenous populations.  Of course, there is a grain of truth in some of what I just explained, but as we have seen so far, the truth is much more complex and interesting than simplistic narratives would have us believe.  Take the subject of today’s episode: much attention has been given to William Bradford, the eventual governor of Plymouth whose Of Plymouth Plantation was the primary source for scores of historians looking to explore this time. Much ink has also been spilled regarding Edward Winslow, the Pilgrim who made his way back to England to fight for Cromwell’s forces, and Miles Standish, the soldier who led the Plymouth residents in their military endeavors.  On the Wampanoag side, Tisquantum is famous for his willingness to teach the settlers how to cultivate their new land, and thus survive it (not to mention his forced journey across the Atlantic Ocean).  Massasoit, or Ousamequin, was the leader whose cunning leadership forged the alliance between his people and the English.  However, one man stands out as connecting two significant eras in early American history.  He journeyed to Jamestown as an indentured servant, got shipwrecked along the way, made his way back to England, and was among the first settlers on the Mayflower.   His experiences may have even inspired William Shakespeare to write his final play.  As we examine the settlers of Plymouth, we will do so through the lens of Stephen Hopkins, the peacemaker of Plymouth.

Act One: The Wariness of the Wampanoag

Our story begins with the Wampanoag, an Algonquan-speaking people of southern New England.  The Wampanoag, like so many throughout the East Coast and Great Lakes region, consumed a diet centered on the Three Sisters crops of corn, beans, and squash.  The Wampanoag were led by a sachem, the most well-known being Ousamequin, who served in this capacity when the Mayflower made landfall.  It was easy for the English to conceive of a sachem as a king or lord, and they were local leaders who cared for their people, resolved disputes, and granted plots of land to his people.  However, the authority of the sachem in relation to those he was allied with was not absolute; the loyalty of those he commanded was dependent on his actions and continued kinship ties to what was called his “paramount, or extended, sachemship.”  So, Ousamequin was leader of the Pokanokets, which was his local sachemship, while his paramount sachemship, stretched along Cape Cod and included Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Island.  The Wampanoag were bordered by the Narragansett to the southwest, and they served as the primary antagonists of the Wampanoag.  The Nipmucs controlled lands to the northwest, while the Pequots and Mohegans controlled lands to the west of the Narragansetts.  Alliances could be forged…and broken ad hoc, and the arrival of Europeans along the Atlantic coast intensified these arrangements.  

Italian Giovanni de Verrazzano is the first recorded European to arrive in New England, exploring Narragansett Bay in 1524.   Although the trade in goods such as copper, beads, and cloth would not gain steam until decades following Verrazzano's voyage, they became nearly annual beginning in the early 1600’s.  Money may have motivated the voyages, but violence and treachery were also known to accompany these ships that appeared on the horizon.  We have already seen that the boy who would become Opechancanough found his way aboard a European ship that was bound for Spain, perhaps against his own will, in Chesapeake Bay.  The same thing happened in 1614 when an English ship captained by Thomas Hunt anchored off of the community of Patuxet, which is where Playmouth would be located 6 years later.  Both sides had goods that the other wanted, and Hunt convinced a few Patuxet to board his ship to inspect their merchandise.  He captured about 20 of them, with Tisquantum among those who were to sail to England.  This is how Tisquantum became familiar with London and learned the English language, though it would take a few lucky breaks for him to eventually sail home.  Tisquantum’s story certainly stands out, but most in his shoes did not reach his resolution: history does not accurately record the details of those who were most likely sold into slavery in far-off lands.  On a yearly basis, the coastal sachemships of southern New England needed to balance their peoples’ desire for precious European trade goods with the reality that the individuals hawking these goods may be as likely to kidnap, or even kill, their people as they would be to provide them with material goods.  This helps explain the initial hesitation of the Wampanoag to make contact with, much less provide assistance to, the saints and the strangers who left on the Mayflower to establish Plymouth.

Act Two: Indentured in Jamestown 

What in the background of Stephen Hopkins makes him any more worthy of this episode than, say, Tisquantum, Ousamequin, or perhaps William Bradford?   Hopkins stands out partially because he fuses together two influential early English colonies: Jamestown and Plymouth.  Now, if you’ve listened to the first three episodes of the show, first off, thank you so much for that and for continuing to listen…but you also know that this is the segment of the show where we introduce the background of our main figure as it leads into the corresponding topic.  In today’s episode, the background of Stephen Hopkins may include more “beyond the textbook” material than is traditionally found in this segment…a hint that he is a figure certainly worth exploring (but don’t worry, our fourth segment will still go “beyond” the traditional narrative).  

Stephen Hopkins was born in 1581 in a town on the southern coast of England, and much of what we gather from these early years is conjecture based on the fact that, unlike Bradford, little was written about him.  His family moved when Hopkins was a boy, and it was at this time that he most likely gained the skills of reading and writing that would serve him later in life.  This is worth pointing out because Hopkins’s literacy as an adult would have been unusual given the social status he was born into…the upper end of the lower-class spectrum, but still lower class nevertheless.  Literacy rates were low for those of this class, so it stands to reason that Hopkins must have shown an aptitude for learning as a young boy.  The death of his father, and the responsibilities of a man of his time, eventually found the literate Hopkins married with two young children and the external forces of higher prices and lower wages convincing him that he needed to take advantage of any possible opportunities to support his family.

This opportunity arrived in 1609 when word spread of a third supply run that would reinforce the struggling colony of Jamestown, that colony we learned about through the lens of Opechancanough in episode 1.2.  The London Company, who established and were attempting to turn the colony into something that resembled profitable, were heavily censoring the information that reached the British Isles, so accounts made it appear as if the Garden of Eden lay just west of the Atlantic Ocean.  It was far from it…the opposite, in fact, but the financially-struggling Hopkins signed on as the clerk for Anglican minister Richard Buck.  He may or may not have been recommended for this position, but the fact remains that he boarded the Sea Venture on June 2, 1609 bound for a final destination of Jamestown…and arrived in late May of 1610.  So, why did this somewhat “routine” voyage take nearly an entire year to complete?  Well, that’s a story that we’ll address in Act Four…for now, we acknowledge that Hopkins did indeed set foot in England’s first permanent North American colony.

Stephen Hopkins finally arrived in Jamestown at the tail end of what we know of as the “Starving Time.”  The governor at the time wrote of murder and even cannibalism that occurred in the name of survival and desperation.  Twelve percent of the pre-Starving Time population of men, women, and children were alive by the time Hopkins arrived.  You heard that correctly: out of 500 settlers that started the winter of 1609 at Jamestown, only 60 were alive by the time the settlers of the Sea Venture arrived in Late May of 1610.  The first order of business: a prayer, delivered by Reverend Buck, honoring those who had passed and asking for the protection of those who remained and had recently arrived.  As the clerk of the Reverend, it would have been the job of Hopkins to formally bring everyone together for the occasion.  The terms of Hopkins’s contract as an indentured servant were seven years, and having served one between departing and finally arriving at Jamestown, Hopkins had six years remaining on this agreement.  This nearly didn’t occur, for anyone, in fact; two weeks after the arrival of the Sea Venture passengers, the governor made the decision to formally abandon Jamestown given the lack of supplies for those remaining.  Hopkins and every other settler boarded ships headed for England, with Jamestown being declared a failure.  Most were ecstatic, until a resupply ship appeared with more passengers and plenty of supplies to go around.  That’s right: Jamestown was nearly abandoned three years into its founding, but was saved from this fate thanks to some lucky timing…or unlucky, depending on one’s perspective.

Since Hopkins remained in Jamestown until 1616, it stands to reason that he would have been present for, and even participated in, key events in that colony’s early crucial history.  As clerk for Reverend Buck, Hopkins would have assisted him in performing religious duties, administering to the settlement, and even performing menial tasks for him given his status as an indentured servant.  Hopkins was present at the outbreak of the First Anglo-Powhatan War, and he was also present when the merchant John Rolfe arrived with his “forbidden” strand of tobacco that he acquired from Spanish-controlled territory.  Rolfe and Hopkins had ample chances to get acquainted with one another given that both of them were passengers on the Sea Venture and hoped to improve their fortunes in Jamestown.  Given his religious duties, Hopkins also played a key role in helping end the First Anglo-Powhatan War: he assisted in presiding over the marriage of John Rolfe and Pocahontas, while also gaining experience in dealing directly with the Powhatan in both war and peace. Through his time in Jamestown, he witnessed its near destruction, its war and subsequent peace with the Powhatan, the introduction of the cash crop that saved it, the marriage that allowed it to persist, and the continual threats of starvation and disease that plagued its early years.  In 1616, with his contract completed, Hopkins boarded a ship to return to London, and reunite with his wife and children, although his time back in England would prove to be relatively brief.

Act Three: Experience Pays Off

So, who were these individuals that settled Plymouth, and how does Stephen Hopkins factor into this?  Sailing into this complex political situation were a collection of individuals that history has dubbed the “saints and strangers.”  The short version is that a group of Puritan “Separatists,” the “saints” of our story, had been living in the Dutch city of Leiden for some time.  “Puritan” refers to their desire to attempt to “purify,” or cleanse the Church of England of elements that were similar to Catholicism, and “Separatist” refers to the fact that these Puritans felt that this church was too “corrupt” to be reformed, so they needed to separate and form their own church.  The Netherlands was seen as much more tolerant of dissenting religious beliefs, and specifically the city of Leiden, population 40,000, was a fast-paced economic center, too fast for these Separatists.  As the years went on, the duel issues of their English children becoming more “Dutch” in their education and mannerisms, and the near arrest of one of their leaders due to the printing of a pamphlet critical of England’s King James I, led to the conclusion that Leiden was no longer the haven they assumed it was.

Our story centers on Hopkins, and the tale of the Separatists, or “Pilgrims,” has been told countless times throughout the centuries, we can simply state that the Pilgrims in Leiden purchased a ship called the Speedwell, and they were joined by family members left behind in England, who boarded a ship called the Mayflower.  The two ships were to meet in Southampton, England…and it was here that they met the so-called “Strangers,” individuals that weren’t necessarily emigrating for religious reasons.  Hopkins was among the Strangers, and it’s even believed that he was the only settler who traveled with the convoy who had previously crossed the Atlantic.  And to address why the Speedwell ifn;t that well-known…the Mayflower is the only ship credited with ferrying these passengers because it’s the only one that made the voyage west.  The Speedwell sprung a leak and was unable to continue the journey, so all passengers boarded the Mayflower and departed from Plymouth on September 6, 1620.

The ship was supposed to dock at the mouth of the Hudson River, but ended up north of this destination in modern-day Cape Cod.  Since they had no authority by the terms of their charter to settle where they did, there was a real dilemma.  Numerous scholars have asserted that Hopkins apparently made several “discontented and mutinous speeches” declaring that since they weren’t settling where they were supposed to, there was nothing to bind them together that would prevent each person or family from going their separate ways.  The solution to this issue was what has become known as the “Mayflower Compact,” and for centuries was touted as the “birth of American democracy.”  Maybe so, but it was more of a pragmatic agreement in which all of the free adult men on board agreed to create a civil government that was similar to the one they left behind in England; a so-called “body politic” that would bind them together.  There was to be no insurrection, no violence; male Saints and Strangers alike agreed to this…and so settling Plymouth could now commence.

With regard to Hopkins, we will focus on his interactions with the Wampanoag, the nation we addressed in Act One.  The Plymouth settlers initially raided what they believed to be an abandoned village, left for them by “Divine Providence.”  It wasn’t abandoned…it was a Wampanoag seasonal village, and the Wampanoag were watching very closely.  Remember, they had grown accustomed to European oceanic vessels appearing annually, and the Europeans on board these vessels weren’t always keen to play nice to get what they wanted.  Additionally, the total number of Wampanoag, and specifically Massasoit’s Pokanokets, had been greatly reduced in the years prior to the arrival of the Mayflower.  A total population of about 12,000 in 1616 was reduced by a bubonic plague to the point where the leader could only count on several hundred warriors in military situations.  This reality, along with the unknown intentions of the English, led to the Wampanoag viewing them from a safe distance until they could ascertain their intentions.

The decision by the Wampanoag to make contact led to one of the more well-known episodes in Plymouth on March 16, 1621, after the settlers endured a brutal winter.  A Native that the English heard as Samoset began walking towards the settlement with two arrows, one tipped and the other untipped, and the Englishmen rallied to arms; however, everyone was stunned when, as history records, this individual exclaimed in perfect English, “Welcome Englishmen!”  Once inside the settlement, he explained his origins and the situation of the surrounding area.  He was not from this region, but from an area of what is now Maine where he interacted with scores of English fishermen, that Massasoit lived about 40 miles away, and that there was an individual named Squanto, or Tisquantum, who was more proficient in English than even he.  After considerable debate as to what to do with Samoset, given that darkness was approaching, Stephen Hopkins stepped forward and invited him to stay in his home with his family.  This was a huge gamble, as the true intentions of Samoset were unknown, and anyone indigenous was viewed with outright suspicion.  Playing the “what if” game can be a fool’s errand in history, but Hopkins’s invitation certainly would benefit relations between the two sides moving forward.  Who knows what may have transpired had he not shown hospitality towards this visitor…so “courageous” and “kind” are perhaps adjectives we can associate with the character of Stephen Hopkins.

As to the rest of his time in Plymouth?  One of his more infamous adventures took place months after Samoset arrived when he departed Plymouth with Separatist Edward Winslow and their guide, Tisquantum.  Their goal in July 1621 was to present Massasoit with several gifts as a sign of friendship, as well as to explore the region that remained so unknown to the English.  They finally reached Massasoit after walking the necessary 40 miles, and although Massasoit expressed gratitude towards King James I, he had nothing to offer Hopkins and Winslow in the way of food.  He did offer them shelter for the night, but sleep was hard to come by since they hadn’t eaten in an entire day and their hosts had a habit of singing prior to going to bed.  They left one day later after finally devouring some fish, but the ties between Plymouth and Massasoit had grown stronger.  Drawing perhaps on the knowledge he had gained in Jamestown, Hopkins could add “diplomat” to the list of useful skills he possessed to assist his new settlement.  He went on to become a proprietor who operated a tavern, had a few brushes with the law, but was respected enough that Miles Standish and William Bradford bore as witnesses and signatories to his last will and testament prior to his death in summer of 1644.

Act Four: Inspiring Shakespeare

To backtrack slightly, about one decade before Plymouth…what about those missing months in between when the Sea Venture left for Jamestown and actually ended up there?   Remember, the ship left England in early June 1609, and the passengers finally reached their destination in late May 1610.  Hopkins’s ship, along with the rest of the fleet, hit heavy winds about seven weeks into their voyage, and though the other ships were able to maneuver around the worst of Mother Nature, the Sea Venture got stuck in a hurricane and was blown way off course…to Bermuda.  It might not seem like such a terrible side trip, but Bermuda in 1609 was viewed with demonic overtones.  The “Isle of Devils” is what it was called, and the passengers traded stories of what they felt was the worst to come.  As it turned out, the island was far from their worst fears as it provided them with ample food in the form of fish and feral hogs whose ancestors had been brought by the Spanish, and timber to construct shelter.  When push came to shove, there were more than a few colonists who felt as though staying on the island was the correct decision, since rumors began to circulate that Jamestown was not the promised land that the Virginia Company’s propaganda machine made it out to be.  It didn’t help that one of the longboats, or an additional boat aboard the ship for the purposes of making landfall, was modified so it could travel on the ocean and a small group attempted to reach the mainland and bring back help.  The mission was supposed to take one week, and it never returned.  Since the passengers on the Sea Venture were stuck on what turned out to be more paradise than perdition, there was a true dilemma that arose as to what the next move should be.

Even though Stephen Hopkins was contracted as an indentured servant in Jamestown, he performed his duties as clerk to reverend Buck while stranded in Bermuda, thus continuing to fulfill the terms of his deal.  Hopkins assisted Buck with two services every Sunday, and attendance was mandatory: the bell from the ship was rung, and anybody who was absent when roll call occurred was to be punished.  Mirroring the role he would take on once he actually reached Jamestown, Hopkins performed other religious roles, even assisting in the christening of merchant John Rolfe’s daughter Bermuda.  Sadly, Hopkins would also assist in the burial of this infant along with Rolfe’s wife, Sarah.  The knowledge that Hopkins was a part of several crucial moments of joy and sorrow in John Rolfe’s life during their stay in Bermuda lends more weight to the possibility that it was more than a mere acquaintance that Hopkins helped wed to Pocahontas in 1614.  Two of the shipwrecked survivors of the Sea Venture may hold the key to why Hopkins appeared to demonstrate proficiency in Native language and relations in Jamestown and Plymouth: Namontack and Machumps were Powhatan men who were returning home after spending time in England.  The two men decided to settle away from everyone else, and pretty much kept to themselves, but were visited several times by William Strachey, who would become the secretary of Jamestown, and Strachey was on friendly terms with Hopkins, so it makes sense that Hopkins would have interacted with these two men.  Strachey wrote of using English, Algonquin, which is the Powhatan linguistic group, and hand signals to communicate.  If Hopkins visited and interacted with these men, it certainly explains why he would eventually take a leading role in relations with the Wampanoag as a member of the Plymouth settlement.

Hopkins was literate, which led to his position on this voyage, and he appears to have had a thirst for knowledge and understanding, which is why he most likely communicated with his two Powhatan companions.  The other occurrence that he is most associated with regarding his time as a “shipwreckee” would be his connection to a potential mutiny in Bermuda.  In September 1609, months after the shipwreck, several of the sailors refused to help rebuild the Sea Venture, and they were at first banished by acting Governor Sir Thomas Gates, but then allowed back into the fold after begging for mercy.  They were, after all, seasoned sailors whose skills would be crucial if they were to ever reach Jamestown.  The next January, Stephen Hopkins was charged with mutiny, and he was viewed as more expendable.  It appears as though Hopkins was so well-adjusted to his new life in Bermuda that he saw fit to remain on the island for the time being.  The only testimony we have of Hopkins’s rationale for this new life is filtered through the lens of his shipmate William Strachey, who wrote that Hopkins spoke to two individuals about why staying in Bermuda was a better option than departing for Jamestown as soon as possible.  There was enough food and supplies to sustain anyone who wished to remain behind, so if any settlers wanted to go with Gates to their intended destination, they were more than free to do so.  Furthermore, if the time came when they truly wanted to leave the island, the remaining settlers could simply finish building a ship and sail straight back to England, which would appear to be a much better option than what awaited them in North America.

Strachey never recorded who this conversation allegedly occurred with, but whoever they were, they went directly to Sir Gates and turned Hopkins in.  These were certainly serious allegations: what Hopkins was suggesting directly contradicted the authority of Gates and Sir George Somers, Admiral of the Sea Venture, which meant that he was suggesting outright mutiny.  Hopkins also was not viewed as possessing the skills of an “indispensable” worker such as a sailor; other literate individuals could presumably be found to complete his assigned tasks.  Strachey records that Hopkins was “full of sorrow and tears” when he stood trial under armed guard and in shackles, but Gates sentenced him to death.  Hopkins pleaded for his life, reasoning that his wife and children back in England would suffer immensely were he to die, a legitimate argument that lends weight to the thought that he didn’t want to remain in Bermuda forever.  Gates kept the sentence, but something had changed among the settlers and sailors who witnessed the testimony of Hopkins: they felt sympathy for him, and Strachey and Vice Admiral Christopher Newport even intervened on his behalf to save him.  Newport was the captain of the Sea Venture, so to have such an esteemed figure speak for him was very telling, and Gates eventually relented.  One individual who was not recorded as speaking on his behalf was his boss, Reverend Buck.  Realistically, Hopkins only spoke of options that the settlers had: he took no actions to start an actual mutiny and didn’t recruit anyone to his cause, so the sentence itself was a bit harsh.  The fact that it appears as though the Reverend didn’t attempt to lessen his sentence may reveal tension between the two, but the support that Hopkins enjoyed among the “masses” of Bermuda help explain why he was such a respected and followed member of the initial Plymouth colony.

Months later, the new ships were ready to set sail for Bermuda.  Hopkins had spent nine months as a castaway, and when he left on May 10, 1610, six more years of indentured servitude awaited him in Jamestown.  He was certainly part of a special expedition, for better or worse, that would capture the British, and in a way, the Western, imagination for centuries.  William Strachey would go on to serve as the official secretary of Jamestown, but his account of what happened on board the Sea Venture and among its castaways was published back in England.  It is widely believed that none other than William Shakespeare used this as the inspiration for what became his final play: The Tempest.  Hopkins was back in North America when it was first performed in 1611, and even though it is debated as to whether or not Hopkins saw it live, the inference is that the character of Stephano was based on him.  From indentured servitude in Jamestown, to a Shakespearean fool, to a Mayflower Stranger and successful businessman, Stephen Hopkins not only fused two early American colonies together, but he inadvertently left his mark on the performing stage as well.

Join us next week on History: Beyond the Textbook as we visit the topic of religious influence in the American colonies, but through the views of a woman who seemingly broke all the rules and was more than willing to stand her ground: the Rhode Island rebel herself, Anne Hutchinson.