Chief Powhatan
This event initially proved fortuitous for the English, as Chief Powhatan was obviously unaware of the dire straits of the Colony. However, shortly after Newport returned in early January 1608, bringing new colonists and supplies, one of the new colonists accidentally started a fire that leveled all of the colony's living quarters. The fire further deepened the settlement's dependence on the Native Americans for food, and revealed to Chief Powhatan the weakness of the English colony.