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Context
English expansion into Indigenous territories led to several violent eruptions of conflict in the first decades of settlement in Virginia. A series of wars called the Anglo-Powhatan Wars ended in 1646 with the death of Opechancanough, brother of Powhatan and leader of the nation. Several Indigenous tribes signed a treaty that established the first Indigenous reservation in America, set out hunting territories for both sides, and secured English dominance by requiring allied Indigenous communities to pay an annual tribute to the crown. This treaty included the Pamunkey tribe, which had been part of the larger Powhatan confederation.
The peace in eastern Virginia held for several decades, but conflict between an English planter and the Doeg tribe in 1675 spiraled into a wider war with the Susquehannock. When Governor Sir William Berkeley refused the demands of Nathaniel Bacon and others for more land and more security on the colony's frontier, Bacon led a militia to attack friendly Indigenous communities in 1676. One of these was the Pamunkey, a tributary tribe whose leader Cockacoeske was forced to retreat into Dragon Swamp after her town had been destroyed and some of her people had been killed and captured despite having agreed to provide warriors to ally with Virginia's government against the Susquehannock.
Bacon's Rebellion continued throughout 1676 and pitted colonists who supported the governor against those who supported Bacon, many of whom wanted to eliminate the Indigenous tribes. Fighting continued until Governor Berkeley's forces subdued the rebellion in January 1677. King Charles II sent troops who did not arrive until afterwards, as well as commissioners to report on the conflict.
In February 1677, Cockacoeske went before the Virginia Assembly to demand that Pamunkey land be returned and the Pamunkey prisoners be released. The burgesses made no response, but the royal commissioners agreed that the Pamunkey and other tributary tribes had been mistreated. The commissioners negotiated a treaty of peace on behalf of the king with Virginia tribes who had remained loyal to the colonial government. The Treaty of Middle Plantation (now the city of Williasmburg) was read aloud and signed in a public ceremony on May 29, 1677. Cockacoeske signed the treaty as "Queen of the Pamunkey" and on behalf of several tribes of the former Powhatan Confederacy. Her son John West, whose father had been the son of a colonial governor, signed as well. Three other tribal representatives, whose names are not recorded, signed the treaty, including the female leader of the Weyanoke and two male leaders of the Nottoway and Nansemond tribes.
This treaty affirmed the rights delineated in the 1646 treaty but also banned English settlers from moving within three miles of Indigenous land. Tribal members had the right to take complaints to the governor, who was to treat them as Englishmen. The governor also had the right to regulate trade between the English and tribuary tribes. The tribes could appoint their own interpreters whom they trusted. The treaty required all Indigenous people who wanted to hunt or fish outside of their land to register with the magistrate of the local district first and forbade them from remaining in those areas overnight. Most of the rights bestowed in the treaty were eroded during subsequent decades, but the treaty still remains in effect.
This signature page of the treaty shows Cockacoeske’s signature—the W shape at the top left.
Citation: "Articles of Peace Between the Most Mighty Prince . . . Charles the Second . . . Made and Concluded at the Camp at Middle Plantation the nine and twentieth day of May (1677)," in Samuel Wiseman's Book of Record, Pepysian Library, Magdalen College, Cambridge, England (available on Virginia Colonial Records Project microfilm reel 578, Library of Virginia).
Read a transcription of the published version of the Treaty of Peace online at Encyclopedia Virginia.
Related Document Bank entry:
Cockacoeske, Frontlet from King Charles II, 1677
Learn more about Cockacoeske in her Dictionary of Virginia Biography entry online at Encyclopedia Virginia.
The peace in eastern Virginia held for several decades, but conflict between an English planter and the Doeg tribe in 1675 spiraled into a wider war with the Susquehannock. When Governor Sir William Berkeley refused the demands of Nathaniel Bacon and others for more land and more security on the colony's frontier, Bacon led a militia to attack friendly Indigenous communities in 1676. One of these was the Pamunkey, a tributary tribe whose leader Cockacoeske was forced to retreat into Dragon Swamp after her town had been destroyed and some of her people had been killed and captured despite having agreed to provide warriors to ally with Virginia's government against the Susquehannock.
Bacon's Rebellion continued throughout 1676 and pitted colonists who supported the governor against those who supported Bacon, many of whom wanted to eliminate the Indigenous tribes. Fighting continued until Governor Berkeley's forces subdued the rebellion in January 1677. King Charles II sent troops who did not arrive until afterwards, as well as commissioners to report on the conflict.
In February 1677, Cockacoeske went before the Virginia Assembly to demand that Pamunkey land be returned and the Pamunkey prisoners be released. The burgesses made no response, but the royal commissioners agreed that the Pamunkey and other tributary tribes had been mistreated. The commissioners negotiated a treaty of peace on behalf of the king with Virginia tribes who had remained loyal to the colonial government. The Treaty of Middle Plantation (now the city of Williasmburg) was read aloud and signed in a public ceremony on May 29, 1677. Cockacoeske signed the treaty as "Queen of the Pamunkey" and on behalf of several tribes of the former Powhatan Confederacy. Her son John West, whose father had been the son of a colonial governor, signed as well. Three other tribal representatives, whose names are not recorded, signed the treaty, including the female leader of the Weyanoke and two male leaders of the Nottoway and Nansemond tribes.
This treaty affirmed the rights delineated in the 1646 treaty but also banned English settlers from moving within three miles of Indigenous land. Tribal members had the right to take complaints to the governor, who was to treat them as Englishmen. The governor also had the right to regulate trade between the English and tribuary tribes. The tribes could appoint their own interpreters whom they trusted. The treaty required all Indigenous people who wanted to hunt or fish outside of their land to register with the magistrate of the local district first and forbade them from remaining in those areas overnight. Most of the rights bestowed in the treaty were eroded during subsequent decades, but the treaty still remains in effect.
This signature page of the treaty shows Cockacoeske’s signature—the W shape at the top left.
Citation: "Articles of Peace Between the Most Mighty Prince . . . Charles the Second . . . Made and Concluded at the Camp at Middle Plantation the nine and twentieth day of May (1677)," in Samuel Wiseman's Book of Record, Pepysian Library, Magdalen College, Cambridge, England (available on Virginia Colonial Records Project microfilm reel 578, Library of Virginia).
Read a transcription of the published version of the Treaty of Peace online at Encyclopedia Virginia.
Related Document Bank entry:
Cockacoeske, Frontlet from King Charles II, 1677
Learn more about Cockacoeske in her Dictionary of Virginia Biography entry online at Encyclopedia Virginia.
Standards
VS.2, US1.3, US1.5, VUS.4
Suggested Questions
Preview Activity
Scan It: Read the words in this page of the treaty. Which stand out to you, and why? To whom are these words directed, and why?
Post Activities
Think About It: Imagine you were an Indigenous person whose tribe had signed a treaty in 1646 and then faced violence during Bacon’s Rebellion. How would you have reacted to that? What would you think about your leaders signing this treaty?
Be the Journalist: Imagine you were a journalist about to interview Cockacoeske. What questions would you ask her, and why? What would you expect her answers to your questions to be?
Scan It: Read the words in this page of the treaty. Which stand out to you, and why? To whom are these words directed, and why?
Post Activities
Think About It: Imagine you were an Indigenous person whose tribe had signed a treaty in 1646 and then faced violence during Bacon’s Rebellion. How would you have reacted to that? What would you think about your leaders signing this treaty?
Be the Journalist: Imagine you were a journalist about to interview Cockacoeske. What questions would you ask her, and why? What would you expect her answers to your questions to be?