---
title: The Coronation of Powhatan
author: John Gadsby Chapman
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/13475/the-coronation-of-powhatan/
format: machine-readable-alternate
updated: 1970-01-01
---

# The Coronation of Powhatan

_Authored by John Gadsby Chapman_

## Image File

[![The Coronation of Powhatan](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/13475.jpeg)](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/13475.jpeg)

## Image Caption

*The Coronation of Powhatan,* painting by the American artist John Gadsby Chapman, 1835 CE.

Greenville Museum of Art, Greenville, South Carolina.

The painting depicts the 1609 CE event of the [Jamestown](https://www.worldhistory.org/Jamestown_Colony_of_Virginia/) colonists attempting to make [Wahunsenacah](https://www.worldhistory.org/Chief_Powhatan/) [Chief Powhatan](https://www.worldhistory.org/Chief_Powhatan/) (l. c. 1547-c. 1618 CE), the [Native American](https://www.worldhistory.org/Native_Peoples_of_North_America/) leader of the [Powhatan Confederacy](https://www.worldhistory.org/Powhatan_Confederacy/), an English prince and subject of King [James I of England](https://www.worldhistory.org/James_I_of_England/). The actual event did not go well and Wahunsenacah did not recognize James I as his king. Chapman, however, presented the event as honoring Chief Powhatan and emphasized the good relations between the English and [Native Americans](https://www.worldhistory.org/Native_Peoples_of_North_America/) as the romantic ideal of the "noble savage" was gaining popularity mid-19th century CE. The artist interestingly places a shadow figure, resembling a 19th-century CE frontiersman, directly behind Powhatan, suggesting how the world of the Native Americans gave way to the establishment of the United States of America.

## Cite This Work

### APA
Chapman, J. G. (2021, February 25). The Coronation of Powhatan. *World History Encyclopedia*. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/13475/the-coronation-of-powhatan/>
### Chicago
Chapman, John Gadsby. "The Coronation of Powhatan." *World History Encyclopedia*, February 25, 2021. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/13475/the-coronation-of-powhatan/>.
### MLA
Chapman, John Gadsby. "The Coronation of Powhatan." *World History Encyclopedia*, 25 Feb 2021, <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/13475/the-coronation-of-powhatan/>.

## License & Copyright

[Original image](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Coronation_of_Powhatan_John_Gadsby_Chapman.jpeg) by [**John Gadsby Chapman**](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Coronation_of_Powhatan_John_Gadsby_Chapman.jpeg). Submitted by [Joshua J. Mark](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/JPryst/ "User Page: Joshua J. Mark"), published on 25 February 2021. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Public Domain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain). This item is in the public domain, and can be used, copied, and modified without any restrictions. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.