Ratcliffe's Settlers are characters from the 1995 Disney animated feature film Pocahontas. They are a group of colonists formerly led by Governor Ratcliffe in a plan to find gold in the New World.
Background[]
Ratcliffe's settlers are comprised of men who arrive from England to set sail for the New World (Virginia). Led by their ruthless leader Governor Ratcliffe, they follow his orders and attempt to build a fort in a Native American village which Ratcliffe is planning to build a fort and name it "Jamestown" in honor of King James. After Thomas reports Ratcliffe of John Smith being captured, Ratcliffe leads a plan to rescue Smith in a plan to fight against Powhatan's tribe in the form of a mob. After Pocahontas stops the war between the settlers and the tribesmen, Ratcliffe refuses to rejoice with the other settlers and threatens to kill Chief Powhatan only for John Smith to defend Powhatan from Ratcliffe, causing him to be injured by Ratcliffe's shot, resulting in the settlers to turn against their leader for injuring Smith, sending him back to England albeit chained.
Appearances[]
Pocahontas[]
As the Susan Constant sails for the New World, Ratcliffe's settlers board the ship with their leader. During a stormy night, Governor Ratcliffe tells his crew that it won't be long before they reach the New World, looking for freedom, prosperity, and the adventure of their lives feeling excited for finding gold in the New World just before they sing a reprise of "The Virginia Company" as the Constant continues its voyage to the New World. As the Constant arrives at Virginia, Ratcliffe and his men arrive into the New World with John Smith, Thomas, and Ben and Lon arriving at the forest. The settlers then appear in Kekata's vision where he tells the tribe to be careful around the group, viewing them as a threat as Kocoum plans to lead the warriors to fight off against the settlers who arrive there.
As Ratcliffe arrives at the village, he tells his crew that he claims this land and all its riches planning to name this settlement "Jamestown" in honor of King James planning to build a settlement in the village, devising his men to work, get the ship unloaded, and build a fort with the rest of his followers to start digging, telling them find gold just like the Spaniards did, telling his fellow settlers to find gold in the village just as Ratcliffe gives various shovels and pickaxes to dig for resources during the musical number "Mine, Mine, Mine" while building a fort in the settlement. Meanwhile, a group of tribesmen observe the settlers digging in their village in a plan to know more about them. After Wiggins threw a chicken leg at the spot where Namontack is observing, Ratcliffe leads his settlers to fight back as Ratcliffe and his followers grab their rifles to fight back, resulting in the archers to fight back, followed by Ratcliffe firing a shot at Namontack, wounding him while Kocoum confronts Ben who attempts to kill him, causing the tribesmen to retreat while the settlers celebrate, much to Powhatan alerting them that they will be back. When Kocoum reports to Chief Powhatan, he tells him to send the messengers in every village to summon the warriors to fight back and stay away from the settlers.
After Pocahontas returns to her village, John Smith encounters his fellow settlers building a fort while Ratcliffe leads his men to continue their plan to get into the Powhatan tribe's territory looking for gold while devising a plan to his followers. That evening, Smith encounters Ratcliffe who is leading his settlers to fight off against Powhatan's tribe, much to John telling Ratcliffe that they don't have to fight, much to Thomas, Ben, Lon, and the other crewmen feeling concerned that they have befriended a member of the tribe, much to Ratcliffe telling them that they are enemies, much to Smith telling him that there is no gold in their village after Smith realizes Ratcliffe's betrayal.
That night, Smith sneaks past Ben and Lon who are arguing with their fellow settlers while Thomas attempts to get Smith's attention while attempting to sneak past two more settlers without getting caught. That night when Pocahontas returns to Grandmother Willow who tells her that the warriors have arrived and are planning to attack, John Smith tells Pocahontas that his men are planning to fight against the tribe's warriors and as Pocahontas tells Smith to talk to Chief Powhatan about this, Smith replies that talking will not work, telling her that he tried talking to his soldiers but it did not work; Grandmother Willow tells Smith that the right path is not easy to follow, convincing him that he and Pocahontas can be together when the fighting stops. As John Smith falls in love with Pocahontas, Thomas reacts with a surprised look while Kocoum angrily reacts to Pocahontas falling in love with Smith just as Kocoum threatens to kill Smith.
After Thomas killed Kocoum, Smith tells Thomas to get out to avoid getting caught by the tribesmen just as Smith is caught by the other tribesmen; Thomas returns to the fort to report to Ratcliffe that John Smith tried to befriend the tribesmen but was captured. Ratcliffe approaches Thomas devising a plan to the settlers and tells him that the tribesmen could not be trusted - telling his followers that Smith tried to befriend them but they captured him, leading Ratcliffe to rescue Smith and fight back against the tribe. During the musical number "Savages", Ratcliffe leads his followers to fight back against the tribe in the form of an angry mob with various weapons just as Ratcliffe sounds the drums of war. Throughout the musical number, the settlers and tribesmen form a violent war against each other.
The next day, Ratcliffe leads his settlers to attack while Chief Powhatan prepares to execute Smith during sunrise as the other tribesmen prepare to attack only for Pocahontas to stop her father from killing Smith. After Pocahontas tells the tribe about the path of hatred they chose, the settlers and tribesmen stop fighting when they feel the wind passing through just as Powhatan tells his tribe that his daughter speaks with wisdom just as Powhatan tells a nearby tribesman to release Smith while the settlers lower down their weapons as they stop fighting. Ratcliffe then sees Powhatan from a distance, telling his fellow settlers to attack but they refuse. Seeing no one attacking, Ratcliffe threatens to kill Powhatan where Smith saves Powhatan from being shot just as Ratcliffe shoots Smith. With John Smith wounded, the settlers turn against Ratcliffe for his betrayal, sending Ratcliffe back to England.
Following the aftermath, the settlers peacefully approach Powhatan's tribe who have made peace with each other just before John Smith is sent back to England to be healed as the Susan Constant sets sail to return to England.
Disney Parks[]
Fantasmic![]
From 1998 to 2022, the settlers took part during the "Pocahontas" sequence of the nighttime show in the Disney's Hollywood Studios version of "Fantasmic!" During the sequence, they took part in a battle against Powhatan's tribesmen only for Pocahontas to stop the fight between both groups were an instrumental version of "Colors of the Wind" plays. This sequence was removed as of the post-2022 revamp.
Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom[]
In the Governor Ratcliffe storyline of the former Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom interactive attraction, a drum-playing soldier appeared as an enemy taunting the guests "It's magic time". After the guests defeated the drummer using a spell against him, he ended up getting his own drum placed on his head, bumping into a crate. Upon foiling the drummer, he was revealed to be Pain and Panic in disguise, causing them to retreat.
