Samuel Argall

Samuel Argall was an English sea captain and colonial official in early Virginia. He is best known for capturing Pocahontas in 1613 and using her as leverage in negotiations with the Powhatan alliance.

Argall is best known for the 1613 capture of Pocahontas, which the English used to pressure Powhatan leaders during the First Anglo-Powhatan War. As deputy governor and later governor of Virginia he also led attacks against rival French settlements in Acadia and pursued strict colonial discipline. His conduct generated complaints over trade and governance, but he remained connected to powerful patrons in England and continued in naval service.

In William T. Vollmann’s Argall, Samuel Argall’s capture of Pocahontas in 1613 leads to her conversion, marriage to John Rolfe and journey to England, where she is displayed as evidence that colonisation can be presented as Christian improvement.