The Powhatan War (1622–1644) was among the first conflicts between European settlers and Native Americans. In general, this warfare was caused by cultural differences and conflicts over land.
Jamestown (1607) was the first permanent English settlement in North America. At the time of its founding, the surrounding area was dominated by the Powhatan Indian Confederacy, led by Chief Powhatan. Relations between the two disparate peoples were problematic from the start, but full-scale war was avoided for fifteen years.
The first couple of years for the Jamestown settlers were hazardous, and the colony almost collapsed. The settlers sought merely to survive, and Indian foodstuffs were badly needed by the colonists. The Indians cultivated corn, fished, and hunted, so they had surplus food. In exchange for food, the Indians received blue beads from the English. But relations were tense, and there were occasional conflicts. Nevertheless, an uneasy cooperation continued for a few years.
One reason why limited cooperation persisted was the role played by Pocahontas. A daughter of Powhatan, she supposedly saved the life of Captain John Smith as he was about to be executed by the Indians. Later, in 1613, Pocahontas was captured by the English, and she married an Englishman in 1614. This marriage helped maintain a delicate peace.
By 1618, both Powhatan and Pocahontas were dead. Opechancanough became the new chief. Tensions were high. The English had started to cultivate tobacco and were seizing land from the Indians. Tobacco was extremely lucrative, so more land was needed by the colonists for planting and for settlements as more Europeans poured into Virginia. In 1622, Opechancanough led a devastating attack, and full-scale war had begun.
When English settlers arrived in Virginia and came into contact with the Powhatan, they were reliant on the Powhatan and their corn for survival. This, combined with the fact that the English settlers were heavily outnumbered, led to early cooperation between the English and the Powhatan. With the development of tobacco as a cash crop, however, things began to change.
The introduction of tobacco to the Virginia colony proved to be very successful. A high demand for tobacco in Europe led to increasing profitability, which led to a strengthening of English settlements in Virginia. With English settlers realizing the value behind the growing demand for tobacco, they attempted to plant more tobacco in order to increase their wealth. This led to the English attempt to gain more land, which encroached upon Powhatan land. This would lead to conflict and violence between the English and the Powhatan, as they both attempted to exert control over the same land.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Powhatan-War
Aside from the cultural differences that contributed to friction between native peoples and Europeans throughout the Americas, the main cause of the Anglo-Powhatan wars in the years following Jamestown's founding was the desire of English settlers for land. When the Jamestown colonists arrived in Virginia, they entered the empire of the Powhatan people, whose chieftain had spent the previous two decades expanding his influence over the region. At first, he probably saw the English as subject peoples and perhaps valuable allies, but after surviving a series of horrific famines, and nearly failing as a business venture, the English began to plant a variety of tobacco that could be easily marketed in Europe. Virginia quickly became a cash crop colony, and the colonists' demands for land increased dramatically. As more and more colonists arrived, they became more of a threat to the Powhatan, and this process led to conflict. The earliest war had actually begun when the Powhatan attempted to starve out the colonists by denying them corn, a response to early English expansion (before tobacco became a factor). But the introduction of tobacco into the colony sped up expansion and intensified conflict with area natives. This process ended in disaster for the Powhatan.
http://www.virginiaplaces.org/nativeamerican/anglopowhatan.html
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