How did the English react to the surprise attack on March 22, 1622? Opechancanough was surprised when the English did not retreat after the attack. The Powhatan way would have been to withdraw to another territory. He told the Patawomeck weroance, who had not participated in the uprising, that "before the end of two Moones there should not be an Englishman in all their Countries." The English reacted to the attack by calling for more people and supplies. By 1625, the population of the colony was 1,300 and growing. The settlers who survived the attack responded with a vengeance. For over ten years, the English killed Powhatan men and women, captured children, demolished villages, and seized or destroyed the crops. As the Powhatan Empire declined, the English territory expanded. OnApril 17, 1644, hoping to finally force the English from Powhatan land, Opechancanogh launched yet another attack which resulted in the death of hundreds of colonists. This attack, too, failed and resulted in the capture anddeath of Opechancanogh.
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