Initially when Jamestown was colonized in 1607, many of the first English settlers were new to the Transatlantic projects and unaware of what of what to expect. However, a Native American tribe known as the Pamunkeys among, whom they settled with was very familiar with the fawn and fauna of the land and also aware of the opportunities and dangers posed by the European presence.

Roanoke was the very first English colony in North America. It was later abandoned twenty years before Jamestown's founding. However some of the settlers made their way to Chesapeake Bay, historians credit this move with the Pamunkey’s transatlantic knowledge. There are earlier reports from Roanoke published in 1590 that depict some of John White's paintings of the …show more content…
The Europeans were seen as incompetent, greedy and war lusting. John Smith, one of the leaders of the Jamestown colony; was aware that Powhatan had inherited the eldership of six tribes and also conquered several others. His rule was not only exclusive to tribes around the Chesapeake but his Pamunkeys and their allies held strictly controlled relationships with Europeans in the bay. For this reason Powhatan believed he could not control the shiftless Jamestown colonists and use their presence …show more content…
From the beginning the Virginia Company believe that the relationship between the Native Americans and settlers would inevitably become hostile: "for you cannot carry yourselves so towards them but they will grow discontented with your habitation." This combination of dependence and assertiveness was dangerous one, and it led the English into overconfident behavior in their encounters with the Native Americans and excessive acts of reprisal when presented with a challenge. In example Smith would kidnap a child if Native American men entered a village because he believed that their Achilles heel was their naivety and this would perpetuate bloodshed. Smith used such drastic methods as means to force reluctant tribes to provide food. Smith however alleged such techniques earned Powhatan's respect, and he admired Powhatan's strategic and tactical acumen. Sequentially, the two men and the regimes they controlled agreed on truce in the early years. After Smith left the colony however, less competent leaders took over and the relationship between settlers and Native Americans deteriorated into an outright war highlighted by extreme acts of