Yaocomico
Encyclopedia
The Yaocomico, or Yaocomaco, were an Algonquian
-speaking Native American
group who lived along the north bank of the Potomac River
near its confluence with the Chesapeake Bay
in the 17th century. They were related to the Piscataway
, the dominant nation north of the Potomac.
The settlers who arrived to found the English colony of Maryland
purchased land for their first settlement from the Yaocomico. By the late-17th century, the tribe had disappeared from the historical record. Historians believe this was mostly due to epidemics of newly introduced infectious disease
and to pressure from European settlers and other Native groups.
along the Susquehanna River
, who had been raiding into Algonquian territory. There were also Siouan-speaking tribes to the west and southwest.
According to historical tradition, the first settlers of the Maryland colony
purchased the land for their settlement at St. Mary's City
from the Yaocomico, who had a settlement in the area. In 1634, Leonard Calvert
, the first governor of the Maryland colony, met the Yaocomico along the Potomac below the island the Europeans had named St. Clement's Island. Yaocomico is referred to in different sources as either the name of the natives living in the area or as the name of the leader of the village. It was a tribe. The colonists had previously encountered and traded with Natives further upriver and so had some experience with them. As a result of the meeting, the Yaocomico traded approximately 30 acres (12.1 ha) of land for a variety of European-made metal tools and cloth. Apparently the Yaocomico were willing to relocate from this village, and it was an ideal place for European settlement, as it had already been cleared.
Father Andrew White
, a Jesuit missionary
priest and early Maryland settler, described the Yaocomico in detail. They dressed in deerskin decorated with natural objects such as shells, animal teeth, and feathers. Their bodies were painted in different colors. They drew red and blue lines on their faces. The women wore tattoos on various parts of the body, and used manmade beads to adorn their bodies and clothing. White claimed the Yaocomico were such skilled archers that they could throw a stick in the air and hit it with an arrow before it hit the ground. The Yaocomico had a loose structure of government and generally peaceful relations with other Algonquin groups.
They cultivated the staple crops of the woodland
natives, varieties of corn
, beans, and squash. In addition, they gathered foods, fished and hunted in the rich coastal environment. The first European settlers described a number of Native celebrations throughout the year, often involving feasting and music. Their instruments were made from readily available materials and included rattles, drums, and flutes.
European accounts claimed the Yaocomico were ready to sell the land to the Maryland colonists because they were being threatened by Iroquoian-speaking tribes from the north, specifically the Susquehannock
and Seneca
, the latter part of the Iroquois Confederacy. Despite relations with the Piscataway and the larger Powhatan Confederacy to the south, the Yaocomico had apparently decided to abandon the area before the arrival of Europeans. Both the Yaocomico and their neighbors had been raided repeatedly by groups of Susquehannock warriors based further up the Chesapeake, along what the settlers named the Susquehanna River
. Such raids had pushed most Alonquian Natives out of the lands along the upper Chesapeake Bay, concentrating them in the south, where they encountered English settlers. The Yaocomico sought to use the new settlers as buffers against the Susquehannock.
About half the Yaocomico left the site of St. Mary's City immediately. The other half left after a year, to allow them to maintain and harvest their crops. In the interim, the Yaocomico proved an invaluable resource to the settlers, teaching them how to survive in the new world. The Europeans, in return, wrote favorably of the Yaocomico. Jesuit priests arriving with the first colonists attempted to convert the Natives to Catholicism. They also continued to trade or share some European goods with the natives.
The Maryland settlers continued to maintain good relations with the Yaocomico through the next few decades. They included provisions to protect them in treaties with neighboring tribes. But, the Yaocomico disappeared by the 1670s or 1680s. Historians now believe that Eurasia
n infectious diseases carried by the English were the most likely cause. The Natives had no immunity to such diseases, by then endemic among European populations. There was also continuing encroachment and competition by settlers or other native groups.
Modern St. Mary's City includes a mock-up of the original Yaocomico village. The village shows Algonquian-style longhouses as they would have appeared to the first European settlers.
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
-speaking Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
group who lived along the north bank of the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
near its confluence with the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
in the 17th century. They were related to the Piscataway
Piscataway (tribe)
The Piscataway are a subtribe of the Conoy Native American tribe of Maryland. At one time, they were one of the most populous and powerful Native polities of the Chesapeake Bay region. They spoke Algonquian Piscataway, a dialect of Nanticoke...
, the dominant nation north of the Potomac.
The settlers who arrived to found the English colony of Maryland
Province of Maryland
The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S...
purchased land for their first settlement from the Yaocomico. By the late-17th century, the tribe had disappeared from the historical record. Historians believe this was mostly due to epidemics of newly introduced infectious disease
Infectious disease
Infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...
and to pressure from European settlers and other Native groups.
Description and history
The Yaocomico were one of the Algonquian-speaking groups, who lived mostly in the coastal tidewater areas of present-day Maryland. The Piscataway were dominant to the north of the Potomac River, but there were many smaller tribes such as the Yaocomico. Maryland also had Iroquoian-speaking tribes, particularly the SusquehannockSusquehannock
The Susquehannock people were Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries from the southern part of what is now New York, through Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Susquehanna in Maryland at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay...
along the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
, who had been raiding into Algonquian territory. There were also Siouan-speaking tribes to the west and southwest.
According to historical tradition, the first settlers of the Maryland colony
Province of Maryland
The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S...
purchased the land for their settlement at St. Mary's City
St. Mary's City, Maryland
St. Mary's City, in St. Mary's County, Maryland, is a small unincorporated community near the southernmost end of the state on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is located on the eastern shore of the St. Mary's River, a tributary of the Potomac. St. Mary's City is the fourth oldest...
from the Yaocomico, who had a settlement in the area. In 1634, Leonard Calvert
Leonard Calvert
Leonard Calvert was the 1st Proprietary Governor of Maryland. He was the second son of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, the first proprietary of the Province of Maryland...
, the first governor of the Maryland colony, met the Yaocomico along the Potomac below the island the Europeans had named St. Clement's Island. Yaocomico is referred to in different sources as either the name of the natives living in the area or as the name of the leader of the village. It was a tribe. The colonists had previously encountered and traded with Natives further upriver and so had some experience with them. As a result of the meeting, the Yaocomico traded approximately 30 acres (12.1 ha) of land for a variety of European-made metal tools and cloth. Apparently the Yaocomico were willing to relocate from this village, and it was an ideal place for European settlement, as it had already been cleared.
Father Andrew White
Andrew White (missionary)
Andrew White, S.J. was an English Jesuit missionary who was involved in the founding of the Maryland colony. He was a chronicler of the early colony, and his writings are a primary source on the land, the Native Americans of the area, and the Jesuit mission in North America...
, a Jesuit missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
priest and early Maryland settler, described the Yaocomico in detail. They dressed in deerskin decorated with natural objects such as shells, animal teeth, and feathers. Their bodies were painted in different colors. They drew red and blue lines on their faces. The women wore tattoos on various parts of the body, and used manmade beads to adorn their bodies and clothing. White claimed the Yaocomico were such skilled archers that they could throw a stick in the air and hit it with an arrow before it hit the ground. The Yaocomico had a loose structure of government and generally peaceful relations with other Algonquin groups.
They cultivated the staple crops of the woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
natives, varieties of corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, beans, and squash. In addition, they gathered foods, fished and hunted in the rich coastal environment. The first European settlers described a number of Native celebrations throughout the year, often involving feasting and music. Their instruments were made from readily available materials and included rattles, drums, and flutes.
European accounts claimed the Yaocomico were ready to sell the land to the Maryland colonists because they were being threatened by Iroquoian-speaking tribes from the north, specifically the Susquehannock
Susquehannock
The Susquehannock people were Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries from the southern part of what is now New York, through Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Susquehanna in Maryland at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay...
and Seneca
Seneca nation
The Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. They were the nation located farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. While exact population figures are unknown, approximately 15,000 to 25,000 Seneca live in...
, the latter part of the Iroquois Confederacy. Despite relations with the Piscataway and the larger Powhatan Confederacy to the south, the Yaocomico had apparently decided to abandon the area before the arrival of Europeans. Both the Yaocomico and their neighbors had been raided repeatedly by groups of Susquehannock warriors based further up the Chesapeake, along what the settlers named the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
. Such raids had pushed most Alonquian Natives out of the lands along the upper Chesapeake Bay, concentrating them in the south, where they encountered English settlers. The Yaocomico sought to use the new settlers as buffers against the Susquehannock.
About half the Yaocomico left the site of St. Mary's City immediately. The other half left after a year, to allow them to maintain and harvest their crops. In the interim, the Yaocomico proved an invaluable resource to the settlers, teaching them how to survive in the new world. The Europeans, in return, wrote favorably of the Yaocomico. Jesuit priests arriving with the first colonists attempted to convert the Natives to Catholicism. They also continued to trade or share some European goods with the natives.
The Maryland settlers continued to maintain good relations with the Yaocomico through the next few decades. They included provisions to protect them in treaties with neighboring tribes. But, the Yaocomico disappeared by the 1670s or 1680s. Historians now believe that Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
n infectious diseases carried by the English were the most likely cause. The Natives had no immunity to such diseases, by then endemic among European populations. There was also continuing encroachment and competition by settlers or other native groups.
Modern St. Mary's City includes a mock-up of the original Yaocomico village. The village shows Algonquian-style longhouses as they would have appeared to the first European settlers.