Chief Powhatan
The Powhatan Confederacy was established in the late 16th and early 17th centuries under the leadership of Chief Wahunsonacock (who was more commonly known as Chief Powhatan, named for the tribe he originally led, which was based near present-day Richmond, Virginia). Over a period of years, through negotiation and/or coercion, Chief Powhatan united more than 31 of the Virginia Indian tribal groups in the Tidewater region of what is now the Commonwealth of Virginia, essentially the southeastern portion of the modern state.