They were sometimes referred to as Algonquians because of the Algonquian language they spoke and because of their common culture. Some words we use today, such as moccasin and tomahawk, came from this language. At the time the English arrived in , ancestors of the Powhatans had been living in eastern Virginia for thousands of years. The paramount chief of the Powhatans was Wahunsonacock, who ruled over a loose chiefdom of approximately 32 tribes.
Everyone paid tribute taxes, such as deerskins, shell beads, copper, or corn, to the local ruler; the local chiefs paid tribute to Powhatan. Succession of political positions was matrilineal, with kinship and inheritance passing through the mother or female line.
This was how Powhatan came to his position as paramount chief. Powhatan villages were located along the banks of larger rivers or major tributaries. A Powhatan house was called a yehakin not a wigwam and was made from natural materials found in the surrounding environment. Its framework was made from saplings of native trees such as red maples, locusts and red cedar. The framework was then covered with either bark or mats made from marsh reeds. Houses were located near the planting fields, which was important because the Powhatans likely had to move whenever their fields were no longer fertile due to weeds, insects or leaching.
The Powhatan lifestyle was heavily dependent upon a seasonal cycle. Their planting, hunting, fishing and gathering followed the rhythm of the seasons. They raised vegetables, such as corn, beans and squash, with corn being the most important. Using both alliances and war, Powhatan would expand his influence to be the ruler of around 30 tribes. Each one had its own chief, known as a werowance , but they also answered to Powhatan. This meant that they fought on his side in conflicts and paid him tribute.
The territory Powhatan controlled was called Tsenacommacah, or Tenakomakah. It had a population of about 14, people and covered about six thousand square miles. Tsenacommacah was made up of what is now tidewater Virginia, the Chesapeake Bay's eastern shore and possibly southern Maryland. As its chief, Powhatan was wealthy, which allowed him to have many wives and many children one of which was a daughter, Pocahontas.
While it is not known when Powhatan became chief, he was in power when the English who would form the Jamestown settlement arrived in April In June, Powhatan sent an ambassador to the colony to seek peace.
After the harvest, he also allowed food to be delivered, which helped keep the struggling colonists alive. In the winter of , Captain John Smith was captured and brought to Powhatan's capital of Werowocomoco. Smith later wrote that Pocahontas saved his life during this time.
His accounting of this rescue may have been an exaggeration, as it did not appear until It is also possible that he misinterpreted a mock execution ceremony that was intended to bind Smith to Powhatan and his tribe. Smith was released the next year but soon returned to Werowocomoco to negotiate with Powhatan. Seeking weapons that would help him defeat his enemies, and open to other trade as well, Powhatan agreed to supply the colonists with food.
However, the colonists continued to explore and encroach upon Powhatan's land, which disrupted the truce. Their determination to make Powhatan a subject of the English king also caused difficulties. By , Powhatan had abandoned Werowocomoco and distanced himself from the English by moving to a new capital, Orapax. Relations worsened between Powhatan and the English as he tried to maintain control of his territory.
In November , Powhatan invited a group of colonists to his new settlement. Prior to these attacks in , the Virginia Company had dramatically increased the number of colonists sent to Virginia every year, and the population had tripled within three years, threatening Powhatan territory between the York and James Rivers.
By , Indians were forced to move inland away from their traditional river valley homes. The lack of communication that existed between the two groups in did not improve sufficiently to bridge cultural differences as deep and sensitive as land ownership.
As a result of the treaty in , the English tried to limit contact between the Indians and the colonists, including limiting trade. In , after a second Indian uprising and the death of more than colonists, the Powhatans suffered a final defeat and signed a formal peace treaty with the Virginia government. This treaty barred the Indians from traveling on the James-York peninsula. By mid-century, the Powhatans were confined to land north of the York River, without access to their traditional hunting and fishing grounds.
Smaller tribal groups merged with larger ones, losing their independent identity. In spite of this, the Powhatan Indians overcame many obstacles, including years of discrimination, and learned to adapt in order to survive.
Most importantly, they maintained their cultural pride and an Indian presence in Virginia that continues to the present day with eight recognized tribes in Virginia. Hamor visits Powhatan, de Bry. Samuel Argall and the Chickahominy. The Abduction of Pocahontas. The Marriage of Pocahontas. View Site Map. Donations to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Inc.
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