The Crime Book

176

See also: The Kidnapping of Patty Hearst 188–89 ■ The Abduction of Aldo Moro

322–23 ■ The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt 324–25

T

he short life of Pocahontas,

the young American Indian

princess who was a pivotal

contact between the first English

settlers in the US and American

Indian tribes, has long been

romanticized in popular culture.

Born around 1596, Pocahontas

was a daughter of Powhatan,

paramount chief of some 30 Native

American tribes in Virginia’s

Chesapeake Bay. As a young girl,

she allegedly prevented her father’s

men from killing John Smith, the

leader of Jamestown, an English

colony founded in 1607 on land

within Powhatan territory.

Jamestown’s inhabitants

coexisted fairly peacefully with the

American Indian tribes until 1609,

when Chief Powhatan brought all

trade to an end in a campaign to

starve the colonists out of Virginia.

War soon broke out.

In spring 1613, mariner Sir

Samuel Argall sailed up the

Potomac River in search of new

trading links with the Patawomeck

tribe. He learned that Pocahontas

was staying with Japazeus, their

chief. Planning to use the princess

to force the release of English

prisoners and stolen tools and

weapons, Argall abducted her.

A ransom note was sent to Chief

Powhatan, and his daughter was

held captive at Jamestown. The

chief refused to meet all of the

demands, and Pocahontas

remained with the English. In

1614, she became a Christian and

married settler John Rolfe. She died

in England in 1617, where royalty

had welcomed her as a model for

colonial relationships. ■

IN CONTEXT

LOCATION

Virginia, US

THEME

Political abduction

BEFORE

1303 The ambitious Pope

Boniface VIII is kidnapped by

an army of noble families. He

refuses to abdicate and is sent

back to Rome but dies soon

after his release.

AFTER

1936 Chiang Kai-shek, leader

of the Republic of China, is

held hostage for two weeks by

dissident officers who believe

he is not using the full force

of the army against Japan;

Chiang complies but later has

the rogue officers executed.

10 February 1962 US pilot

Francis Gary Powers is

released in a prisoner exchange

with the Soviets in Berlin, two

years after he ejected from a

damaged spyplane in Soviet

airspace and was captured.

HE VALUED HER

LESS THAN OLD

SWORDS

THE ABDUCTION OF POCAHONTAS, 1613

Pocahontas arrives at Jamestown as

a captive of the English – her abduction

was an early example of the use of a

prisoner as political leverage.

176-177_Pocahontas_Tichborne.indd 176 02/12/2016 14:44

177

See also: The Affair of the Diamond Necklace 64–65 ■ Harry Domela 70–73

■ Frank Abagnale 86–87

R

oger Tichborne, heir to the

Tichborne baronetcy, was

lost in the Atlantic in 1854,

when the ship in which he was

travelling sank off Rio de Janeiro,

Brazil. His mother, Lady Henriette

Tichborne, was devastated. After

hearing a report that survivors from

the ship had been rescued and

taken to Australia, she held out

hope that he was alive and placed

advertisements around the world,

asking for news of his whereabouts.

In 1866, a lawyer in Australia

wrote to Lady Tichborne. A butcher

in New South Wales calling himself

Tom Castro had contacted him,

claiming to be Roger. Overjoyed,

Lady Tichborne sent for Castro, and

when she met him later that year,

claimed to recognize him.

An improbable prodigal

To the rest of the family, however,

this “Roger” was obviously an

impostor. A man who all recalled as

being slight in stature, delicate in

manner, his voice inflected by a

boyhood in France, was now big

and coarse in appearance and

unrefined in his speech. After

Lady Tichborne’s death, the

family challenged his claim to

the estate and title. The lengthy

civil and criminal trials that

followed caused a public sensation.

At their end, Arthur Orton, a

Londoner who had left England,

jumped ship in Chile, and ended

up in Australia, was sentenced to

14 years for perjury. Orton tried

to live off his celebrity without

much success. He died in poverty,

still claiming to be Tichborne. ■

KIDNAPPING AND EXTORTION

IN CONTEXT

LOCATION

Hampshire, UK

THEME

Imposture

BEFORE

1487 Low-born Lambert

Simnel, a pretender to the

English throne, threatens

King Henry VII’s reign. He is

defeated and later pardoned by

the king, who believes Simnel

was manipulated by nobles.

1560 In France, Arnaud

du Tilh is executed after his

three-year impersonation of

Martin Guerre is revealed

when the real Guerre returns.

AFTER

1921 A man claiming to be

Prince Ramendra Narayan Roy,

one of the three co-sharers of

the extensive Bhawal estate

in India’s eastern Bengal,

reappears 12 years after his

supposed death and cremation.

His claim is disputed but two

trials rule in his favour.

MARVELLOUS

REAL-LIFE

ROMANCE

THE TICHBORNE CLAIMANT, 1897

The real Roger Tichborne (left),

and Arthur Orton (right) looked very

different, yet dozens of people swore

that they were the same person.

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