1622: The Indian Massacre that Almost Destroyed Virginia
From The Old World with Will Tanner by Will Tanner
May 2, 2026 · 18 min
About this episode
This episode explores the Great Massacre of 1622 and its impact on Virginia and the Powhatan people.
The Great Massacre of 1622 almost destroyed Virginia. Understanding that the ever-larger numbers of settlers and their accumulation of land would destroy his people and their way of life, Great Chief Opechancanough, the brother of Powhatan and uncle of Pocahontas, bands the Powhatan people together and launches a surprise attack on the English on the morning of March 22, 1622. A third of the colony is wiped out in the blink of an eye, its precarious prosperity is wiped away, and the outlying plantations are ravaged by treacherous natives who pose as friends of the unsuspecting settlers before striking down them and their families. Jamestown is saved by the bravery of an Indian boy named Chanco and a settler named Richard Pace who had taken him in, but only just, and the settlers respond with fury, launching the Third Anglo-Powhatan War. This is the full tale, and the story of how Virginia survived such treachery! Timestamps: 0:00 The Indian Massacre of 1622 3:49 The Great Peace after John Rolfe Married Pocahontas 5:47 Opechancanough Plots the Destruction of the English 6:35 The Powhatan Launch the Great Good Friday Massacre of 1622 10:07 How Jamestown Survived the 1622 Massacre…
People in this episode
Host: Will Tanner
Topics covered
- Indian Massacre
- Virginia history
- Powhatan people
- settler conflicts
- colonial America
- Jamestown survival
Keywords
- Indian Massacre
- Virginia
- Opechancanough
- Jamestown
- Pocahontas
- settlers
- Powhatan
- colonial history
- Third Anglo-Powhatan War
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Virginia, Jamestown
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