The Indian massacre of 1622 took place in the English Colony of Virginia on March 22, 1621/22 (O.S./N.S.). The English explorer John Smith, though he was not an eyewitness, wrote in his History of Virginia that warriors of the Powhatan "came unarmed into our houses with deer, turkeys, fish, fruits, and other provisions to sell us." They then grabbed any tools or weapons available and killed all of the English settlers they found, including men, women, and children of all ages. Opechancanough, paramount chief of the Powhatan Confederacy, led a series of co-ordinated surprise attacks that ended up killing a total of 347 people, a quarter of the population of the Colony of Virginia.
Founded in 1607, Jamestown, Virginia, was the site of the first successful English settlement in North America and served as the capital of the Colony of Virginia. The town's tobacco economy, which quickly degraded the land and required new land, led to the settlers' constant expansion of habitation on Powhatan lands and provoked the Powhatan attack.