Wingina | |
---|---|
Secotan leader | |
Wereoance | |
Personal details | |
Born | 7 December 1509 |
Died | 1 June 1586 Dasamongueponke |
Cause of death | Decapitation |
Known for | First Native American leader to be encountered by English colonists in North America |
Wingina (c. 16th century – 1 June 1586), also known as Pemisapan, was a Secotan weroance who was the first Native American leader to be encountered by English colonists in North America. During the late 16th century, English explorers Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe explored the region inhabited by Wingina and his people, detailing conflicts between Wingina's tribe, the Secotan and a rival tribe known as the Neusiok. When English colonization of the region began, relations between the colonists and the Secotan quickly broke down. On 1 June 1586, in an effort to gain more stocks of food for the colony, Sir Ralph Lane led an attack on the Secotan; Wingina was decapitated during the attack by one of Lane's men.[1][2] This attack and crime doomed the Roanoke colony. [3]