Weroance

Weroance ([we:ɹoanz] or [we:ɹoans] or [we:ɹoəns]) is an Algonquian word meaning leader or commander which was used throughout the Chesapeake Bay region including in the Powhatan Confederacy and the Piscataway Confederacy. Weroances within these confederacies were under paramount Weroances called Mamantowick and Tayac respectively. Like their predecessors, each member/weroancy of the Powhatan Confederacy was led by their own Weroance often chosen by their leader, the Mamantowick, from their relatives or partners. Most foreign writers who have come across a Weroance only did so on a special occasion. This is the case because a foreigner's presence was special. John Smith noted that there are few differences between Weroances and their citizens. Present day leaders of Chesapeake nations, such as Chief Anne, no longer use the title Weroance, using the english word chief instead.

In older texts, especially from the time of the early Jamestown settlers, spelling was not standardized, so the following spellings are used in different texts:

• Weeroance
• Weroance
• Werowance
• Werowans
• Wyroance
• Wyrounce
• Wyrounnces

A Weroansqua is a female Weroance. Spellings of this word also vary. Many Weroansquas were notable for their humanitarian and environmental efforts, helping protect their land and communities from colonial control and exploitation. Specifically, Cockacoeske was a prominent example, using diplomacy and political influence to defend Powhatan borders, even renegotiating an environmental treaty with the English Crown in 1677.