Person

Opechancanough

d. 1646 · 17th century

Opechancanough was paramount chief of the Powhatan Confederacy in Virginia and a younger brother of Wahunsenacah. He led the surprise attacks of 1622 and 1644 that killed hundreds of English colonists in an attempt to drive them out. Captured in 1646 at a great age, he was shot by a guard at Jamestown, and the confederacy then became tributary to Virginia.

Opechancanough
Image: Robert Vaughan · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Powhatan Confederacy

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Opechancanough. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/opechancanough
MLA
“Opechancanough.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/opechancanough. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Opechancanough.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/opechancanough.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Opechancanough’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/opechancanough (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻