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The Powhatan (also spelled Powatan) are a Native American people in Virginia.〔http://indians.vipnet.org/resources/writersGuide.pdf〕 It may also refer to the leader of those tribes, commonly referred to as Powtitianna. It is estimated that there were about 14,000–21,000 Powhatan people in eastern Virginia when the English settled Jamestown in 1607.〔Egloff, Keith and Deborah Woodward. ''First People: The Early Indians of Virginia'', Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 1992〕 They were also known as Virginia Algonquians, as they spoke an eastern-Algonquian language known as Powhatan or Virginia Algonquian. In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, a ''mamanatowick'' (paramount chief) named ''Wahunsunacawh'' (a.k.a. Powhatan), created a powerful organization by affiliating 30 tributary peoples, whose territory was much of eastern Virginia. They called this area ''Tsenacommacah'' ("densely inhabited Land"). ''Wahunsunacawh'' came to be known by the English as "Powhatan".〔Wood, Karenne. ''The Virginia Indian Heritage Trail'', 2007.〕〔http://www.wm.edu/niahd/journals/index.php?browse=entry&id=4965〕 Each of the tribes within this organization had its own weroance (chief), but all paid tribute to Powhatan.〔Waugaman, Sandra F. and Danielle Moretti-Langholtz, Ph.D. ''We're Still Here: Contemporary Virginia Indians Tell Their Stories''. Richmond: Palari Publishing, 2006 (revised edition).〕 After Powhatan's death in 1618, hostilities with colonists escalated under the chiefdom of his brother, ''Opechancanough,'' who sought in vain to drive off the encroaching English. His large-scale attacks in 1622 and 1644 met strong reprisals by the English, resulting in the near elimination of the tribe. By 1646, what is called the Powhatan Paramount Chiefdom by modern historians had been decimated. More important than the ongoing conflicts with the English settlements was the high rate of deaths the Powhatan 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. By the mid-17th century, the leaders of the colony were desperate for labor to develop the land. Almost half of the English and European immigrants arrived as indentured servants. As settlement continued, the colonists imported growing numbers of enslaved Africans for labor. By 1700, the colonies had about 6,000 black slaves, one-twelfth of the population. It was common for black slaves to escape and join the surrounding Powhatan; some white servants were also noted to have joined the Indians. Africans and whites worked and lived together; some natives also intermarried with them. After Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, the colony enslaved Indians for control. In 1691, the House of Burgesses abolished Indian slavery; however, many Powhatan were held in servitude well into the 18th century.〔Rountree 1990〕 In the 21st century, eight Indian tribes are officially recognized by Virginia as having ancestral ties to the Powhatan confederation.〔(Matchut )〕 The Pamunkey and Mattaponi are the only two peoples who have retained reservation lands from the 17th century.〔 The Powhatan Renape Nation has been recognized by the state of New Jersey.〔("Powhatan Renape Nation" ), official website〕 The competing cultures of the Powhatan and English settlers were united through unions and marriages of members, of which the most well known was that of Pocahontas and John Rolfe. Their son Thomas Rolfe was the ancestor of many Virginians; many of the First Families of Virginia have both English and Virginia Indian ancestry.〔 ==Naming and terminology== The name "Powhatan" (also transcribed by Strachey as Paqwachowng) is the name of the native village or town of Wahunsunacawh. The title "Chief" or "King" Powhatan, used by the English is believed to have been derived from the name of this site. Although the specific site of his home village is unknown, in modern times the Powhatan Hill neighborhood in the East End portion of the modern-day city of Richmond, Virginia is thought by many to be in the general vicinity of the original village. Tree Hill Farm, which is situated in nearby Henrico County a short distance to the east, is also considered as the possible site. "Powhatan" was also the name used by the natives to refer to the river where the town sat at the head of navigation. The English colonists chose to name it for their own leader, King James I. The English colonists named many features in the early years of the Virginia Colony in honor of the king, as well as for his three children, Elizabeth, Henry, and Charles. Although portions of Virginia's longest river upstream from Columbia were much later named for Queen Anne of Great Britain, in modern times, it is called the James River. It forms at the confluence of the Jackson and Cowpasture rivers near the present-day town of Clifton Forge, flowing east to Hampton Roads. (The Rivanna River, a tributary of the James River, and Fluvanna County, were named in reference to Queen Anne). The only water body in Virginia to retain a name related to the Powhatan peoples is Powhatan Creek, located in James City County near Williamsburg. Powhatan County and its county seat at Powhatan, Virginia were honorific names established years later, in locations west of the area populated by the Powhatan peoples. The county was formed in May 1777. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Powhatan」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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