1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,040 Speaker 1: Hey, everyone, Technically you're getting two days in history today 2 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: because we're running two episodes from the History Vault. I 3 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 1: hope you enjoy. Greetings everyone, welcome to this Day in 4 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:13,320 Speaker 1: History class, where we bring you a new tidbit from 5 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:24,960 Speaker 1: history every day. The day was April five, sixteen fourteen. 6 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:29,840 Speaker 1: A Native American woman named Matoaka, better known by her 7 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:35,880 Speaker 1: nickname Pocahontas, married Jamestown colonists John Rolf. Pocahontas was the 8 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: daughter of Chief wahoom Seneca also called Poetan, the paramount 9 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 1: chief of the Palatine chiefdom known as Senecomico. The chiefdom 10 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:49,480 Speaker 1: included about thirty Algonquian speaking tribes and what is now Tidewater, 11 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: Virginia and Virginia's eastern shore. In May sixteen o seven, 12 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 1: English colonists founded Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in 13 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 1: North America. Uh Pocahontas and Palatan didn't meet any English 14 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: colonists until late December of that year, when Captain John 15 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:11,560 Speaker 1: Smith was captured by Palatin's brother and eventually taken to 16 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:16,680 Speaker 1: Chief Powatin at where a Wacomako Palatin's capital. The story 17 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: goes that Pocahontas rescued him from his execution, but that's 18 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:24,680 Speaker 1: likely not the truth back then, as it still happens today, 19 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 1: pocahontas power within the Palatin tradition was often played up. 20 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: Smith was given permission to leave where a Wacomaco in 21 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:38,039 Speaker 1: six eight. Smith became the president of Jamestown. That same year, 22 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:41,040 Speaker 1: Pocahontas was part of a delegation that went to Jamestown 23 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:44,480 Speaker 1: to negotiate the release of several Native Americans who had 24 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:49,080 Speaker 1: been captured. On that trip and on later envoys to Jamestown, 25 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 1: Pocahontas was mainly a symbol of Palatin's trust and Smith. 26 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: Pocahontas was pretty playful, and English writer William Straitchy even 27 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 1: described her doing cart wheels with English ways in Jamestown. 28 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:05,360 Speaker 1: Relations between the English and the tribes were okay. At first. 29 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:10,080 Speaker 1: Palatin sent food to the colonists and the colonists traded 30 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:13,399 Speaker 1: with the Palatin people's but by the winter of sixteen 31 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 1: o eight relations had soured as the English demanded more 32 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:21,160 Speaker 1: food that the tribes did not have. The first Anglo 33 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: Palatin War began, and Palatin moved his capital west. Pocahontas 34 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,000 Speaker 1: was barred from visiting Jamestown, though she did still have 35 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:33,920 Speaker 1: some interaction with the colonists, and Smith left Virginia because 36 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: of an injury in October sixteen o nine. But Pocahontas, 37 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 1: who would have been around fourteen and sixteen o nine 38 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:43,919 Speaker 1: and sixteen ten, was getting older, wearing the clothing of 39 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: adults and getting tattoos. Pokehont Is, like other Palatin women, 40 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: could choose to marry whom she wanted. In sixteen ten, 41 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: Pocahontas married a Native American man named Cocoon, who was 42 00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:00,519 Speaker 1: a commoner but also some sort of warrior. It's not 43 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: clear where they lived or if they had children, but 44 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: English documentation in Native oral history show that Palatan was 45 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 1: happy with Pocahontas's choice and stayed close to his daughter 46 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:15,520 Speaker 1: after the marriage. But during this time, the colonists were 47 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:21,919 Speaker 1: expanding beyond Jamestown. In sixteen thirteen, Captain Samuel Argall found 48 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: out Pocahontas was living with the Pottawa Met tribes, and 49 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:27,799 Speaker 1: with the help of the tribe, kidnapped her and held 50 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:30,639 Speaker 1: her as ransom for the return of stolen weapons and 51 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 1: English captives. She was then taken to Jamestown and probably Henrico, 52 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:40,560 Speaker 1: a nearby settlement. Accounts differ on how Pocahontas was treated 53 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:43,920 Speaker 1: at this time. Some say she was treated well, while 54 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: others say she was raped. But it was during this 55 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 1: time when Pocahontas learned the English language, traditions, and religion, 56 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: and in sixteen fourteen she was baptized and given the 57 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: Christian name Rebecca. By the time an agreement was reached 58 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: for her release, Pocahontas had fallen in love with the 59 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 1: English colonist John Rolfe, who had introduced the tobacco crop 60 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 1: in Jamestown. Rolph asked Sir Thomas Dale, the deputy governor 61 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:15,320 Speaker 1: of Virginia, for permission to marry Pocahontas. In a letter 62 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: to Dale, Rolph said that the marriage was not for 63 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: the unbridled desire of carnal affection, but for quote the 64 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 1: good of this plantation, for the honor of our country, 65 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:29,360 Speaker 1: for the glory of God, for my own salvation, and 66 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:31,800 Speaker 1: for the converting to the true knowledge of God in 67 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:39,799 Speaker 1: Jesus Christ and unbelieving creature, namely Pocahontas. Palatan and Dale 68 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:42,920 Speaker 1: agreed to the marriage and on our around April five, 69 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:48,719 Speaker 1: six fourteen. Either Minister Alexander Whittaker or Richard Book performed 70 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: the ceremony. At that point, her first marriage ended, and 71 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: the couple had a son named Thomas. Although it's not 72 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:00,640 Speaker 1: clear when, but pocahontas Is marriage to Raw brought about 73 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: a period of peace between the tribes and the colonists, 74 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:07,520 Speaker 1: as Palatine called an end to the war. The Virginia 75 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: Company of London, which had funded the settling of Jamestown, 76 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,680 Speaker 1: saw this unlikely pairing as a marketing opportunity and trotted 77 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:18,960 Speaker 1: the couple out to England in sixteen sixteen. The English 78 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: upper class largely doated on her while she was there, 79 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:24,360 Speaker 1: as her appearance was a spectacle to them, and she 80 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:26,680 Speaker 1: was even presented at the court of King James the 81 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: First But in March sixteen seventeen, when Pocahontas and John 82 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:35,480 Speaker 1: were about to head back to Virginia, Pocahontas died, possibly 83 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:39,600 Speaker 1: of an upper respiratory illness or a dysentery. Soon, the 84 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:42,480 Speaker 1: piece that their marriage had inside it would deteriorate, and 85 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: the Second Anglo Palatine War began in sixteen twenty two. 86 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:50,840 Speaker 1: I'm Eves jeffco and hopefully you know a little more 87 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:56,479 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. You can learn 88 00:05:56,520 --> 00:06:00,200 Speaker 1: more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, book, 89 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: and Instagram at T d I h C podcast. Thank 90 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:10,039 Speaker 1: you so much for listening, and I hope to see 91 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:18,120 Speaker 1: you again tomorrow for more tidbits of history. Hey, hey, y'all, 92 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:21,480 Speaker 1: welcome to This Day in History Class, a podcast for 93 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:24,960 Speaker 1: people who can never know enough about history. I have 94 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:27,480 Speaker 1: to say that I feel very comforted knowing that you 95 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:29,680 Speaker 1: all are listening to me as I sit here and 96 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 1: record from my pretty dark and pretty cramped closet. So 97 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 1: thank you all, and I hope you're holding up. Will 98 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:43,160 Speaker 1: Let's get into the show. The day was April five, 99 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:47,960 Speaker 1: night the top of an underwater mountain known as Ripple 100 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: Rock was destroyed in an explosion. It was noted as 101 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 1: one of the largest non nuclear peacetime explosions ever. Ripple 102 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:00,599 Speaker 1: Rock was located off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, 103 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 1: north of a city called Campbell River. It was in 104 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:07,000 Speaker 1: a shipping channel called the Seymour Narrows, and it had 105 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:10,720 Speaker 1: two peaks. At low tide, the south peak was only 106 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:14,600 Speaker 1: about nine ft or two point seven meters below the surface. 107 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: Because it was so close to the surface but invisible 108 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:22,120 Speaker 1: to ships, it was a huge hazard. On top of this, 109 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:25,400 Speaker 1: there were dangerous tidal currents in the area around the peak. 110 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:29,240 Speaker 1: Ripple Rock was responsible for the sinking or damage of 111 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: more than twenty large vessels and at least one hundred 112 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:37,000 Speaker 1: smaller vessels. At least one hundred and fourteen people died 113 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:41,160 Speaker 1: due to the rexit cost. It was clearly a dangerous obstacle, 114 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 1: but not everyone agreed on the destruction of the peak. 115 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:47,600 Speaker 1: While some people wanted to get rid of Ripple Rock, 116 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 1: others advocated keeping it around in the hopes that it 117 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 1: could support a bridge to connect Vancouver Island to mainland 118 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:59,480 Speaker 1: British Columbia. But in the end, the Canadian government decided 119 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 1: to destruc Roy Ripple Rock. In nine an attempt was 120 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:06,480 Speaker 1: made to blow up the rock by floating a drilling 121 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:09,160 Speaker 1: barge over it. The barge was held in place by 122 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 1: steel cables attached to concrete anchors that weighed one thousand 123 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:19,000 Speaker 1: and one hundred tons or nine metric tons. Holes would 124 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: be drilled into the top of the rock and filled 125 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:24,080 Speaker 1: with explosives so that the rock could be blasted away, 126 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:28,720 Speaker 1: but the cables broke frequently. There was another attempt to 127 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 1: use a drill barge to blast the rock to pieces, 128 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:36,080 Speaker 1: but water turbulence made the operation difficult and this attempt 129 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:40,440 Speaker 1: was abandoned. But in nineteen fifty three the National Research 130 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:44,960 Speaker 1: Council of Canada commissioned a feasibility study on tunneling into 131 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:49,240 Speaker 1: the rock to plant explosives. This approach was approved and 132 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:52,880 Speaker 1: the government hired Dolmage and Mason consulting engineers to plan 133 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:57,720 Speaker 1: the project. The Northern Construction Company J W. Stewart Limited 134 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 1: in Boyle's Brothers Drilling Company got contracts for the project. 135 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 1: The plan was to sink a shaft on mod Island 136 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:09,120 Speaker 1: Tunnel out below Seymour Narrows and drill two vertical shafts 137 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: up into the rock. Work began in November and lasted 138 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:17,600 Speaker 1: for more than two years. Once the tunneling was done, 139 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:20,959 Speaker 1: workers drilled so called coyote tunnels and the peaks of 140 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:25,000 Speaker 1: the rock and placed explosives in them. At in the 141 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:29,120 Speaker 1: morning on April five, Ripple Rock exploded. The blast reached 142 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:33,040 Speaker 1: a height of one thousand feet. The explosion was broadcast 143 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: live on CBC. No environmental damage was reported in the area. Now, 144 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:41,319 Speaker 1: the south peak is about forty five ft below the 145 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,720 Speaker 1: surface at low tide. The north peak is about seventy 146 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:48,840 Speaker 1: ft below the surface. I'm each Jeff Code and hopefully 147 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:51,319 Speaker 1: you know a little more about history today than you 148 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:55,280 Speaker 1: did yesterday. If there's anything I missed, or something or 149 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 1: someone you really love to hear about on the show, 150 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:01,120 Speaker 1: please send us a message on social media. That's on Facebook, Twitter, 151 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:05,199 Speaker 1: our Instagram at t d I h C podcast, and 152 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:07,280 Speaker 1: if you're so inclined, you can send us an email 153 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 1: at this day at I heart media dot com. Thanks 154 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:13,600 Speaker 1: again for listening to the show, and we'll see you tomorrow. 155 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:19,280 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the iHeart 156 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 157 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:22,439 Speaker 1: favorite shows.