Japazeus

Iopassus (fl. 1609–1619), also recorded as Japazaw, Japazaws, Japasaw, and Japazeus, was a weroance, or leader, of the Patawomeck town of Passapatanzy in what is now Virginia. He was the younger brother of the principal Patawomeck weroance and exercised authority over one of the tribe's two principal settlements on Potomac Creek.

Iopassus hosted the English interpreter Henry Spelman, related the only surviving early Patawomeck creation narrative recorded by the English, and maintained a consequential diplomatic relationship with Captain Samuel Argall. He is best known for his involvement in Argall's 1613 abduction of Pocahontas. Early English narratives depicted him as exchanging Pocahontas for a copper kettle and other goods, but modern Patawomeck scholarship emphasizes that he acted after coercion and threats of English military violence.

Name and position

Seventeenth-century English writers recorded Indigenous names phonetically and without standardized spelling. Iopassus consequently appears in surviving accounts as Japazaw, Japazaws, Japazeus, Japasaw, Yapassus, I-Oppassus, and Japazons. Japazaw is commonly used in modern Patawomeck tribal histories, while Iopassus appears frequently in modern histories of Pocahontas and early colonial Virginia.

Iopassus was the younger brother of the principal weroance of the Patawomeck district. He governed Passapatanzy, a Patawomeck town on the southern side of Potomac Creek, while the principal weroance was associated with the town of Patawomeke on the creek's northern side.

Patawomeck political setting

The Patawomeck occupied several settlements around Potomac Creek and the lower Potomac River. When Captain John Smith visited the region in 1608, he estimated that the Patawomeck could field approximately 160 bowmen, making them the largest of the northern Chesapeake Algonquian groups he encountered.

Relationship with Henry Spelman

In 1609 the English youth Henry Spelman fled from Powhatan's community and went to live among the Patawomeck at Passapatanzy. Iopassus received Spelman into his household, where the boy remained for more than a year and learned the local Algonquian language and Patawomeck customs.

Spelman's memoir provides one of the few surviving descriptions of Iopassus's household. It indicates that the weroance had two wives, including a woman named Paupauwiske, and children. Spelman described disputes within the household, his responsibilities in caring for a child, and Iopassus's role in resolving conflicts.

Spelman's language skills later made him a valuable intermediary between the Patawomeck and the English. He assisted Argall in communicating with Iopassus and facilitated trade that supplied the struggling Jamestown colony with food.

Patawomeck creation narrative

One of Iopassus's most significant contributions to the historical record was his transmission of a Patawomeck creation narrative. In 1610 he related the story to Samuel Argall, apparently through Spelman as interpreter. Colonial secretary William Strachey recorded it in his account of Virginia.

Abduction of Pocahontas

English pressure on Iopassus

During the First Anglo-Powhatan War, Argall traveled to the Potomac River to obtain food and develop an alliance with the Patawomeck. Through Spelman, he established a working relationship with Iopassus.

In the spring of 1613, Argall learned that Pocahontas, a daughter of Powhatan, was staying at Passapatanzy. He recognized that she could be used as a hostage to obtain English prisoners, weapons, tools, and provisions from her father.

Argall pressured Iopassus to help deliver Pocahontas to the English. According to later reconstructions, Iopassus initially resisted because he feared retaliation from Powhatan. Argall threatened to end relations with the Patawomeck and used the presence of his armed ship to emphasize English military power. He promised that the English would protect the Patawomeck if Powhatan retaliated.

Capture aboard Argall's ship

Iopassus and one of his wives persuaded Pocahontas to accompany them aboard Argall's ship. The wife reportedly pretended that she was eager to see an English vessel and would be disappointed unless Pocahontas joined her.

Once Pocahontas, Iopassus, and his wife were aboard, they dined with the English. Argall then announced that Pocahontas would be detained until Powhatan met the colonists' demands. Iopassus and his wife were permitted to leave, while Pocahontas was carried to Jamestown. Argall departed from the Potomac with her on April 13, 1613.

Older Virginia historical markers described Pocahontas as having been "sold" by Iopassus. Criticism of contradictory and misleading markers prompted the adoption of more contextual language. The present Stafford County marker states that Argall made veiled threats, that Iopassus sought authorization from his brother, and that one of his wives helped bring Pocahontas aboard the ship.

Modern interpretations consequently place Iopassus within the political and military pressures facing the Patawomeck, rather than portraying him solely as Pocahontas's betrayer. His preservation of the Patawomeck creation narrative has also become an increasingly important part of his historical legacy.