Today in History

March 22, 1622

The Jamestown Massacre

On this day in 1622, Indians of the Powhatan Confederacy executed a coordinated, surprise attack on the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia and the surrounding settlements, killing 347 English settlers, almost a third of the colony's population. The English had earlier killed many Indians who had been trading partners with the Europeans, and only the most uneasy of truces ever existed between the two peoples. It took many months for the English colony to regain its balance from the attacks. However, reinforcements from England and the designation of the colony as a Royal Colony sealed the fate of the Indian population as they were driven from their land.