Accomac people

, a 17th-century Accomac chief Their primary settlement, also called Accomac, was near present-day Cheriton, Virginia, on Cherrystone inlet in Northampton County. Debedeavon (Accomac, died 1657) was the principal chief of the Accomac when English colonists first arrived in 1608. They called him the "Laughing King" and allied with him. In 1608, the Accomac were recorded as having 80 warriors. Based on disease profile descriptions involving high fatality rates, short illness lifecycle, and strongest outbreaks during cold seasons, this epidemic is thought to have been caused by an Influenza virus carried over from Europe for which the Accomac people did not have built up defenses. Records indicate that by the mid 17th century, the British colonists had appropriated a majority of Accomac land. By 1700, the Accomac population had declined by approximately 90 percent due to introduced diseases such as smallpox and violence from the colonists. The colonists began calling all American Indians to the immediate east of Chesapeake Bay "Accomac." They maintained communal lands through 1812, mostly in and near Accomack County. A subgroup, the Gingaskins, lived near present-day Eastville, Virginia. They intermarried with African Americans living nearby. After Nat Turner's Rebellion in 1831, local White Americans forcibly expelled them from their homelands. ==List of rulers==

From the mid-17th century onward, the English people called the Accomac paramount chief "emperor" or "empress." The list of emperors of Accomac: Also, Okiawampe may have been the same person as Debedeavon. The list of empresses of Accomac: • Empress of 1673 (Tabbity Abby?) who was mentioned by George Fox • Empress of 1705 (Mary?) who was mentioned by Robert Beverley In 1673 the governor referred to the transfer of power from mother, Tabbity Abby, to daughter, Mary, and that same year George Fox wrote of the old Empress of Accomack. Mary is probably the empress who lived in Nanduye referred to by Robert Beverley in 1705. == Culture and tradition ==

Little is known about the Accomac’s day to day life due to a scarcity of archival records and archeological excavation in the area. However, there is some evidence that the land was deer scarce. As such, the Accomac appear to have relied on fishing and horticulture over hunting for their nutritional needs. It is thought that corn and beans were their primary crops while the occasional deer was hunted in order to make clothing and tools. == Subtribes ==

in Northampton, Virginia. Subtribes of the Accomac included the following groups: • Acohanock • Chiconessex, Chicconessick • Combec • Gingaskin, Gangascoe, Gingaskoyne, • Kiquotank, Kikotanke • Matchapungo, Machepungo, Mastiapungo, Matchopungo, • Macheteege • Mashawatoc • Matomkin, Matompkin, Motomkin • Nadue, Nandewy, Nanduye • Pungotege, Pungoteque. == Name ==

Philologist James Hammond Trumbull wrote that Accomac means "the other-side place" or "on-the-other-side-of-water place." Alternative spellings include Accawmacke, Accomack, Accowmack, Acomack, and Acomak. == Cultural heritage groups ==

Maryland designated the Accohannock Indian Tribe as a state-recognized tribe in 2017. They claim to be descendants of the Accomac people; however, historians and other Native American tribes dispute those claims. == See also ==