Potapoco

Last updated
Potapoco
Total population
Extinct as a tribe
Regions with significant populations
Maryland
Languages
Eastern Algonquian
Religion
Native American religion
Related ethnic groups
Piscataway

The Potapoco were a tribe of Native Americans living in southern Maryland at the time of English colonization in the 17th century. The Potapoca were among the Atlantic coastal tribes speaking Algonquian languages, and they inhabited the area along what the English colonists later called the Port Tobacco River. They called their settlement Potopaco. [1]

Overall, the dominant tribe on the north side of the Potomac River was the Algonquian Piscataway tribe, which later absorbed some of the smaller tribe's survivors. Upon absorption, the Potapoco became a sub-tribe of the Piscataway. [1]

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The 1666 Articles of Peace and Amity was a treaty signed on 20 April 1666 between the English colony of Maryland and 12 Eastern Algonquian-speaking indigenous nations, including the Piscataway, Anacostanck, Doegs, Mikikiwomans, Manasquesend, Mattawoman, Chingwawateick, Hangemaick, Portobackes, Sacayo, Panyayo, and Choptico. The treaty established the right of Native peoples to remain on their lands and preserved their inviolable right to continue fishing, crabbing, hunting, and fowling. The treaty also stated that "If an Indian kill an Englishman he shall dye for itt"; however execution is only prescribed for English colonists if an "English man shall kill any Indian that shall come vnpaynted". The treaty forbade Native peoples from entering any colonial settlements while being "painted", stating that "the English cannot easily distinguish one Indian from another." If a Native person and a colonist met accidentally in the forest, the "Indian shall be bound immediately to throwe downe his Armes vpon call, and in case any Indian soe meeting an English man shall refuse to throwe downe his armes vpon Call he shall be deemed as an Enemy."

References

  1. 1 2 "Paradise lost: Region's native tribes lived lightly on the land". Southern Maryland Newspapers Online. Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2012-09-24.