Powhatan

Powhatan, whose actual name was Wahunsenacawh (also spelt Wahunsenacah, Wahunsunacock or Wahunsonacock), was a Native American leader, who was the “Chief” or “King” of the Powhatan, the conglomerate of Algonquian-speaking people residing in Tsenacommacah, in the Tidewater region of Virginia when English settlers arrived at Jamestown in 1607. He was the primary political and military power confronting the early colonists. Opchanacanough, who launched two major efforts to expel the English settlers from their land in 1622 and 1644, was probably Powhatan’s younger brother. The famed Pocahontas was his daughter. The first introduction between the settlers and Powhatan took place in 1607. Very little information is available on his life before the arrival of the English. He likely became the leader of an empire of four to six tribes as his father’s successor. In the ensuing years, he subjugated over two dozen other tribes. At the height of his rule, he was believed to have reigned over 13,000 to 34,000 people. He was a highly capable and dynamic ruler but was known for being stern and occasionally ruthless towards his subjects. In his native Algonquian language, his title as the emperor was “mamanatowick,” and the territory over which he reigned was called Tsenacommacah. Each tribe within the territory was governed by its own chief, and Powhatan reigned as the chief of these chiefs.