1666: A Novel
1666 is a story that needs to be told, one of relentless brutality, but also one of hope. It is hope fulfilled, too, since the author is a member of the Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia, nearly wiped out by English settlers in 1666. The English kill the men and boys, sell the women and girls into slavery, and steal the tribe’s land. The Patawomeck women join African women on board the ship bound for Barbados. Their humanity is peeled away, layer by layer, as they are stripped of their clothing and names, branded, prodded, and thrown into a filthy hold for the long journey, during which many are raped repeatedly.
The two protagonists—Ah’ Sawei and Xo, close friends each with a daughter—take turns showing us the story, as they are sold to different plantations in Barbados. Escape and return to their homeland is never far from their thoughts, and each woman plots to somehow return to Virginia with her daughter. Xo’s daughter voices the last chapter to tell the reader the end of the story, which would have been better served by showing the dramatic end to this gripping, well-researched tale. Chilton includes glossaries and sufficient clues to help the alert reader recognize the native words and many given names throughout.
