Engravings John White Analysis

By analyzing John White 's watercolor replicas of engravings by Theodore De Bry we can tell how John White 's journey to establish a colony in Raleigh 's charter territory, Virginia, in 1587 affected his few of the Native Americans. Even though this journey ended in bad blood between the two very different people, a look into their life gave John White greater respect for their passion for family, friends, and religion. We see this in the way John White 's images gave us more of a warm view of their family, housing, and religious practices rather than focusing on them being blood thirsty killers preparing for war.

With outrageous rumors of the possibility of Native men pillaging the newly made villages and raping their delicate women,

Early whispers of Native Americans sacrificing and even eating their own to please their Gods quickly spread throughout the news channels of the English. Their religion was seen almost as voodoo and many, especially the Spanish, would rather christianize the Natives than see them as human who had a legitimate culture. Yet White 's paintings of "Conjurer", "Ritual Fire", and "Ritual Circle" told a rather different story of unity, nature, and peace when it came to the so called "voodoo" religion. The "Conjurer" is the beautiful remake of a man running peacefully through, what would be, golden fields, a bird figurine placed gently upon his head. His expression hold not anger or ill intent, just a sense of content. While this painting is more of a peaceful and natural sense his works "Ritual Fire" and "Ritual Circle" show a scene of village eating, laughing, and even dancing together. Much like what the English Villagers themselves did during a celebration. There are no bloody rituals or consuming of body parts, just a village

Finally, John White even dares to show the truth of the Natives Villages. Even I myself think of grass huts and wild children running around when it comes to Native Villages, but White 's work "Village" shows a village of organized simplicity and could almost be mistaken for a English Village. Small farm houses spot the town while abundant crops run along neatly made roads. Villagers ready what seams to be a meal while others dance around a fire in celebration. The shape of the houses are very similar to those of the Plymouth Rock settlers. There are no grass huts or naked children running around and all villagers are working together in one way or another, just like in White 's second village work "Fishing" where all village men are seen working as one to gather fish as a source of food. The scenery of the lake where this takes place is a beautiful blue with a peaceful view of migrating bird on