The widow of Totopotomoi, the Pamunkey chief, Queen Anne became the
chief of the tribe following the death of her husband during a battle
in which he supported the English against other Indian warriors. Due
to her authoritative position, she was always called “Queen Anne” by
the colonists. In 1675 she was called upon to furnish warriors
to fight with the Whites during Bacon’s Rebellion; this was her
first appearance in colonial history. Her appearance at the colonial
Council, in which she scornfully rejected the request to furnish warriors
for the Whites on the grounds that her people had been neglected for
the past 20 years, in spite of their friendship to the Whites, was
a dramatic confrontation between Indian and White.
It was only
after strong promises of better treatment by the colonists that Queen Anne
agreed to provide the needed assistance. Following the end of the Rebellion,
a silver headband, or coronet, inscribed Quenn of Pamunkey was presented
to her by King Charles II. Little more is heard about her following this
period, beyond an appearance in 1715, when she visited the colonial authorities
to request fair treatment for her people.
Source: Great North American Indians by Frederick J.
Duckstander