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Chowanoc
The Chowanoc, also Chowanoke, are an Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe who historically lived near the Chowan River in North Carolina. At the time of the first English contact in 1580s, they were a large and influential tribe and remained so through the mid-17th century. In 1677, after the Chowanoc War, English colonists set aside a reservation for the tribe near Bennett Creek.
The Chowanoc suffered high mortality due to infectious disease, including a smallpox epidemic in 1696. By 1733 descendants of the Chowanoc had assimilated with the Tuscarora. In 1775, James Adair, an Irish-born trader and historian, noted ‘Chowan’ as a language still spoken within the Catawba Nation in South Carolina. The Chowanoc are academically considered to have ceased to exist as an independent entity by, at the latest, 1820.
The name Chowanoc has also been spelled Chawanook, Chowanock, Chowanoke, and Chawwonock. They are also known as the Chowanoc Confederacy. Their name is Algonquian and translates as "they of the south" or "southerners".
The Chowanoc had settlements from north of the confluence of the Chowan and Meherrin Rivers to the mouth of the Chowan River. Smaller towns were likely built along Bennett Creek and tributaries of the Meherrin and Wiccacon Rivers.
In the 1980s, archaeologists explored the primary town also called Chowanoc and learned that it was first settled in the 10th century CE.
About 1,200 to 2,500 When English colonists arrived in 1584, Chowanoc lived along the Chowan River near the Nottoway and Meherrin rivers, and they were most populous tribe in their region. Colonial Governor Ralph Lane encountered the tribe when they were led by the elderly Chief Menatonon (fl. 1580s). Lane's took Menatonon's son Skiko hostage to force the chief to assist English colonists in their efforts to cultivate positive relationships with neighbor tribes and to ensure Menatonon’s support of the English colonists. When Skiko attempted to escape, Lane “laid him in the bylboes, threatening to cut off his head.”
Their villages included Maraton, Ramushonok, and Obanoak and likely also included Metocaum and Catoking.
English mathematician and cartographer Thomas Harriot recorded that the Chowanoc had 18 villages. Harriot estimated that the tribe could mobilize 700 or 800 warriors in a battle. Lane described one town as being large enough to muster 700 to 800 warriors, which meant the capital's population was likely more than 2,100.[citation needed] Theodor de Bry's 1590 map placed five of the tribe's villages on the Chowan River.
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Chowanoc
The Chowanoc, also Chowanoke, are an Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe who historically lived near the Chowan River in North Carolina. At the time of the first English contact in 1580s, they were a large and influential tribe and remained so through the mid-17th century. In 1677, after the Chowanoc War, English colonists set aside a reservation for the tribe near Bennett Creek.
The Chowanoc suffered high mortality due to infectious disease, including a smallpox epidemic in 1696. By 1733 descendants of the Chowanoc had assimilated with the Tuscarora. In 1775, James Adair, an Irish-born trader and historian, noted ‘Chowan’ as a language still spoken within the Catawba Nation in South Carolina. The Chowanoc are academically considered to have ceased to exist as an independent entity by, at the latest, 1820.
The name Chowanoc has also been spelled Chawanook, Chowanock, Chowanoke, and Chawwonock. They are also known as the Chowanoc Confederacy. Their name is Algonquian and translates as "they of the south" or "southerners".
The Chowanoc had settlements from north of the confluence of the Chowan and Meherrin Rivers to the mouth of the Chowan River. Smaller towns were likely built along Bennett Creek and tributaries of the Meherrin and Wiccacon Rivers.
In the 1980s, archaeologists explored the primary town also called Chowanoc and learned that it was first settled in the 10th century CE.
About 1,200 to 2,500 When English colonists arrived in 1584, Chowanoc lived along the Chowan River near the Nottoway and Meherrin rivers, and they were most populous tribe in their region. Colonial Governor Ralph Lane encountered the tribe when they were led by the elderly Chief Menatonon (fl. 1580s). Lane's took Menatonon's son Skiko hostage to force the chief to assist English colonists in their efforts to cultivate positive relationships with neighbor tribes and to ensure Menatonon’s support of the English colonists. When Skiko attempted to escape, Lane “laid him in the bylboes, threatening to cut off his head.”
Their villages included Maraton, Ramushonok, and Obanoak and likely also included Metocaum and Catoking.
English mathematician and cartographer Thomas Harriot recorded that the Chowanoc had 18 villages. Harriot estimated that the tribe could mobilize 700 or 800 warriors in a battle. Lane described one town as being large enough to muster 700 to 800 warriors, which meant the capital's population was likely more than 2,100.[citation needed] Theodor de Bry's 1590 map placed five of the tribe's villages on the Chowan River.