Pocahontas marries John Rolfe, by Joseph Hoover, 1867.
Fought between English settlers of the Virginia Colony and Indians of the Powhatan Confederacy, this was a series of three intermittent conflicts that lasted from about 1610 through 1646. The first war began in 1609 or 1610 after the relationship between the Powhatan Indians and the English soured due to English demands for food. That winter of 1609-1610 is known as the “Starving Time.”
During that winter, the English were afraid to leave the fort due to a legitimate fear of being killed by the Powhatan Indians. As a result, they ate anything they could: various animals, leather from their shoes and belts, and sometimes fellow settlers who had already died. By early 1610, most of the settlers, 80-90%, had died due to starvation and disease. Peace and improved relations followed the 1614 marriage of English settler John Rolfe to Pocahontas, Chief Powhatan’s daughter.
A few years later, in 1617, Pocahontas died, and the following year, her father, Powhatan Chief Wahunsunacock, also passed away. His succession was briefly passed on to his younger brother, Opitchapam, and then to his next younger brother, Opechancanough. On March 22, 1622, Opechancanough, tired of English expansion, planned a coordinated attack on the English settlements. Because of a young Indian boy’s warning, Jamestown, Virginia, was spared.
Powhattan Braves and the English.
Many outlying settlements were attacked, and of a population of about 1,200 settlers, about 350-400 were killed. After the Powhatan Indians withdrew, as was their way, to wait for the English to pack up and leave. However, the English did not leave, and more conflicts arose, continuing on and off for the next ten years, with few decisive victories. The settlers gave up the idea of coexisting with the Indians to begin a policy of extermination. By 1632, the Powhatan were pressured into land concessions in the western area of Chesapeake Bay.
In 1644, the third and last conflict of the Powhatan Wars began. Even though the English population had risen to about 8,000 by this time, Opechancanough remained upset about English encroachment on the land and planned another attack. Once again, approximately 350-400 Englishmen were killed.
Two years later, in 1646, the English captured Opechancanough, who was about 100 years old. While in captivity, he was shot in the back by an English guard, against orders, and killed. His death marked the end of the Powhatan Chiefdom. It also resulted in a boundary being defined between the Indians and English lands that could only be crossed for official business with a special pass. That situation lasted until 1677, when the Treaty of Middle Plantation was negotiated, establishing Indian reservations in the wake of Bacon’s Rebellion.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated March 2026.
Also See:
See Sources.