John Ratcliffe (governor) entire body with mussel shells and tossed the pieces into the flame as he watched. They skinned his face last and finally burned him at stake. This story was documented in an eyewitness account that is included in "The Jamestown Adventure: Accounts of the Virginia Colony, 1605–1614 (Real Voices, Real History)", edited by Ed Southern. In Disney's "Pocahontas" (1995), Ratcliffe was portrayed as a greedy and ruthlessly ambitious man, and the film's main antagonist. His character believes that the Powhatan tribe is very barbaric in nature and have hidden gold near the outskirts of Virginia, and he wants to battle
John Ratcliffe (governor) woods. The colonists dubbed the project "Ratcliffe's Palace." Ratcliffe accompanied Christopher Newport when he sailed from Virginia in 1608. In May 1609, he commanded the "Diamond", one of the ships in the Third Supply fleet of Sir Thomas Gates. In December 1609, Ratcliffe and 14 fellow colonists were invited to a gathering with the tribe of Powhatan Indians. The Powhatans promised the starving colonists would be given corn, but it was a trap. The colonists were ambushed. Ratcliffe suffered a particularly gruesome fate: he was tied to a stake in front of a fire. Women removed the skin from his