Tomocomo, visited London 1616

Uttamatomakkin, also known as Tomocomo, was a priest-counselor to Chief Powhatan.

Matachanna, his wife, was Pocahontas’ half-sister.

Tomocomo’s homeland was Tsenacommacah — a territory in present-day Tidewater Virginia controlled by the Powhatan Chiefdom in the early 17th century when English colonists arrived. It encompassed about 100 miles inland from Cape Henry to the west and north and included the areas east of the fall line on the rivers emptying into the southern Chesapeake Bay.

Chief Powhatan sent Tomocomo and his wife along with several other Indians to accompany Pocahontas and her husband, John Rolfe, on their visit to London in 1616 — with instructions to count the number of people in England and find out if Smith was alive. Other Indians had gone to England before — sometimes viewed as entertaining curiosities.

In the early 17th century, the population of London was somewhere between 250,000 and a half million (if surrounding areas are included) — far greater than that of Virginia, which was comprised of a few hundred English colonists at Jamestown and an Indian population of over 14,000.

In London, where the constant use of coal was widespread, there were tall buildings and other massive structures. A wide variety of people lived in and traveled through the port city, where everything from food to furniture was bought and sold.

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Copyright 2007