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Article: Virginia
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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VIRGINIA
VIRGINIA.
Before the arrival of Europeans in the New World, several groups of Indians related to the Iroquois, Algonquins, and Cherokees occupied the present state of Virginia. The Powhatans were the most powerful and numerous. They inhabited the eastern shore and tidewater regions and lived in settled villages. The Powhatans and other Virginia Indians maintained themselves through hunting, fishing, and growing garden crops. The Indian population of Virginia was never great, numbering perhaps 17,000 at the time of English settlement, and fell sharply after the coming of the colonists. English settlers adopted many Indian place names, such as Appomattox, Nansemond, ...