POW-004N Powhatan Warriors

After Wahunsenacawh’s death in 1618, hostilities with colonists escalated under the chiefdom of his brother, Opchanacanough, who sought in vain to expel encroaching English colonists. His large scale attacks in 1622 and 1644 met strong reprisals by the colonists, resulting in near elimination of the tribe. By 1646, what is called the Powhattan Paramount Chiefdom by modern historians had been decimated. More important than the ongoing conflicts with the English colonial settlements was the high rate of deaths the Powhattan suffered due to new infectious diseases carried to North America by Europeans, such as measles and smallpox. The native Americans did not have any immunity to these, which had been endemic in Europe and Asia for centuries. The wholesale deaths greatly weakened and hollowed out the native American societies.