Gabriel Archer
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Gabriel Archer was an early English explorer of
Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...
,
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...
, and
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. A settler of
Jamestown, Virginia The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent British colonization of the Americas, English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James River, about southwest of present-day Willia ...
, he clashed with the leadership council and John Smith repeatedly before dying in the winter of 1609-1610. The
Jamestown Rediscovery Jamestown Rediscovery is an archaeological project of Preservation Virginia (formerly the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities) investigating the remains of the original English settlement at Jamestown established in the Virg ...
Project, among other scholars, considers the possibility that Gabriel Archer may have been a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, based on how he was buried.


Early life

Gabriel Archer was born to Christopher and Mary Archer of
Mountnessing Mountnessing is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Brentwood in south Essex, England. It is situated to the north-east of Brentwood and south-west of Ingatestone. A large proportion of the houses are situated on the Roman Road between ...
,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, in either 1574 or 1575. He graduated from
St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...
in 1591.


Cape Cod

Gabriel Archer also explored Cape Cod under an expedition which was headed by
Bartholomew Gosnold Bartholomew Gosnold ( – ) was an English barrister, explorer and privateer who was instrumental in founding the Virginia Company in London and Jamestown in colonial America. He led the first recorded European expedition to Cape Cod. He is co ...
. His account of this expedition was later published after his death by
Samuel Purchas Samuel Purchas ( – 1626) was an England, English Anglican cleric who published several volumes of reports by travellers to foreign countries. Career Purchas was born at Thaxted, Essex, England, Essex, son of a yeoman. He graduated from St J ...
under the title "The Relation of Captaine Gosnols Voyage to the North Part of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
." The title reflects the fact that the term
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
was not consistently used to refer to
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
and its environs at that time. The voyage departed on March 26, 1602, before arriving at the coast on May 14. The expedition consequently explored both Cape Cod, but also
Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...
, which George R. Stewart conjectures that Archer himself named, as Gosnold had a daughter named Martha and there were many
grapevines ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 81 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus consists of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, bot ...
in the area. Martha's Vineyard initially designated a smaller island, before the name was shifted to the larger island referred to as Martha's Vineyard to this day. Archer also recorded and most likely coined many other names from that voyage that are not still used in the present day, including Tucker's Terror and Hill's Hap. His records contain a description of most of the important events of the voyage, including finding and naming Cape Cod. During the course of the expedition, Archer engaged in trade with the local
Wampanoag The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and forme ...
tribe and helped build a trading post at
Cuttyhunk Island Cuttyhunk Island is the outermost of the Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts. A small outpost for the harvesting of sassafras was occupied for a few weeks in 1602, arguably making it the first English settlement in New England. Cuttyhunk is loc ...
. However, the trading post was abandoned when Archer and the rest of the expedition returned to England.


Jamestown

Archer entered
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...
in an expedition in early 1607 to aid in setting up the
Virginia colony The Colony of Virginia was a British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colony lasted for t ...
. On April 26, some of the local Native Americans attacked, and Archer sustained some wounds to his hands. Later on, in the
James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...
, Archer sighted what he thought to be a promising site for settlement, which afterwards was known as Archer's Hope (near
College Creek College Creek (formerly named Archer's Hope Creek) is located in James City County, Virginia, James City County in the Virginia Peninsula area of the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia in the United States. From a point of origin nea ...
). However, a separate site which
Christopher Newport Christopher Newport ( – ) was an English seaman and privateer. During the war with Spain Newport was one of the most successful ' Elizabethan Sea Dogs' to venture to the Spanish Main, making large profits. Newport is best known as the c ...
preferred was picked, which ended up becoming Jamestown. Newport then led an expedition that charted the James River until present-day
Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
. While on that journey, Archer most likely kept a log of what they saw, and bestowed more names upon the land, though many were changed and few survived. Archer then gained a position as secretary and recorder for Jamestown. However, he was not on the governing council at that time, despite his position. Archer then aided in the trial of
Edward Maria Wingfield Edward Maria Wingfield (1550–1631) was a soldier, Member of Parliament (1593), and English colonist in America. He was the son of Thomas Maria Wingfield, and the grandson of Richard Wingfield. Captain John Smith wrote that from 1602 to 1603 ...
, the first president of the colony, who was convicted for a string of minor charges after a shift in opinion against him because of a lack of food and great disease within the colony. Not long after the trial, John Smith had been captured by the
Powhatan Powhatan people () are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who belong to member tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy, or Tsenacommacah. They are Algonquian peoples whose historic territories were in eastern Virginia. Their Powh ...
tribe. Smith was released, but two of his men had been killed on that mission. Archer held Smith responsible and subsequently put him on trial. Archer called for the death penalty, citing Leviticus in support of why Smith should be hanged. However, Smith was not hanged, because Christopher Newport arrived with supplies that he had brought back from England, and convinced the colonists to let Smith go free. Archer then accompanied Newport on his voyage back to England, along with his enemy Wingfield. In England, Archer reported to the
Virginia Company The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the objective of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day ...
about Jamestown, including by recommending the possibility of growing
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
there, or
pineapples The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many cent ...
, though he did also mention the possibility of profitably exporting
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
. Archer's return, however, was a tempestuous voyage, including a hurricane that severely damaged the ''Blessing'', the ship that he was on, and left some of the other ships broken or stranded. When Archer returned, Smith was president of Jamestown. The ships that were returning from England were supposed to convey that Thomas Gates was the president of Jamestown colony, but the necessary documentation was not in the ships that successfully arrived at Jamestown. Smith finished out his term, but agreed that the arrivals from England could take over once it was finished. Subsequently, an explosion injured Smith, and so he set sail back for England. Archer and Smith still had great enmity for one another. During the
Starving Time The Starving Time at Jamestown in the Colony of Virginia was a period of starvation during the winter of 1609–1610. There were about 500 Jamestown residents at the beginning of the winter; by spring only 61 people remained alive. The colonis ...
, Archer died in either 1609 or 1610 and was buried in a coffin. His grave was later located near a Jamestown church by the Jamestown Rediscovery Project. The grave was identified because he was a high-ranking leader who was at the age range of the skeleton, and through a comparison of his teeth and lead levels. A possible reliquary was found buried alongside him.


Catholicism

After Archer's grave was discovered in 2015, some of the archaeologists who had found it came up with a theory that Archer was secretly a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, based on the manner of his burial. Almost all the Jamestown settlers were known to be
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
, and one of the motives for establishing Jamestown itself as a colony was to ensure that the Anglican Church would have a foothold in the New World, which up until that point had been dominated primarily by Catholic countries such as
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. Archer's parents were at some point fined for not attending Anglican services because they were Catholic. In addition, Archer was buried facing east, which was then generally only the burial orientation of ministers so they could see their churchgoers on the
Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...
. Archer had also attended Cambridge, which was known at that time, according to James Horn of the Jamestown Rediscovery Project, to be a university with some Catholic presence. The piece of evidence that initially started the theory that Gabriel Archer was a Catholic, however, was a small silver box that was buried next to him. It is believed to be a Catholic
reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', ''Chasse (casket), chasse'', or ''phylactery'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a ''feretory''. Relics may be the purported ...
that contains fragments of bones and a lead
ampulla An ampulla (; : ampullae) was, in Ancient Rome, a small round vessel, usually made of glass and with two handles, used for sacred purposes. The word is used of these in archaeology, and of later flasks, often handle-less and much flatter, for ho ...
. Horn reports that the box was probably intentionally placed in the grave with him, presumably by one of Archer's fellow Catholics. However, the reliquary is not necessarily conclusive evidence, because at this time the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
was still shifting away from Catholic symbolism and Catholic practices were being repurposed for Anglican use. If Archer were a Catholic, James Horn and others have mentioned that that could provide a reason for his animosity with some of the top colonial leaders. Before this, some
rosaries The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...
and
crucifixes A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...
had been found at Jamestown, but there was no evidence that they came from Catholic settlers specifically.


References


External links


Captain Gabriel Archer burial 3D digitization
at
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, Gabriel People from colonial Virginia People from Jamestown, Virginia English explorers of North America 1570s births Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge 1609 deaths People from Essex Emigrants from the Kingdom of England to the Thirteen Colonies