Description
The Paspahegh tribe was a Native American tributary to the Powhatan paramount chiefdom, incorporated into the chiefdom around 1596 or 1597. The Powhatan Confederacy included Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who spoke a related Eastern Algonquian languages. The Paspehegh were among the earliest tribes interact with British colonists, who established their first permanent settlement in the Virginia Colony at Jamestown in their territory, beginning on May 14, 1607. Because of conflict with the colonists and likely exposure to infectious diseases, the Paspehegh appear to have been destroyed as a tribe by early 1611 and disappeared from the historical record.
Language
Spoke a related Eastern Algonquian languages.
Culture
The Paspahegh were early and convenient trading partners for the English, but in 1610, the colonists raided the Paspehegh town killing nearly all of its residents, burning their residences, and destroying their crops. The Paspahegh who survived were forced to abandon their territory and seek refuge in other Indian nations. They fished, foraged, farmed, and hunted for a living. Archaeological excavations at the Paspahegh Settlement Site indicate that the English encountered a well-established town, consisting of residences, warehouses, and temples scattered loosely across the landscape, that may have been home to as many as 620 people.