The Assateague (meaning: "swifly moving water")[1] were an Algonquian people speaking the Nanticoke language who historically lived on the Atlantic coast side of the Delmarva Peninsula (known during the colonial period as the Eastern Shores of Maryland and Virginia, and the Lower Counties of Pennsylvania).
The Indigenous Assateague culture was based on the maritime and forest resources of the Chincoteague Bay watershed and, among other things, involved the manufacture and trade of shell beads.
[citation needed] In 1722, a peace treaty was signed between the then-leader of the Assateagues, Knosulm (also known as M. Walker); the "King of the Pocomokes", Wassounge (also known as Daniel); and Charles Calvert, the governor of Maryland.
This treaty was to last to the "worlds end," and hostilities and damages from former acts would be "buried in perpetual oblivion," with further terms as follows: For the expected protection the Indians were to receive from the governor, the Assateagues and Pocomokes were to deliver unto the Proprietor of Maryland two bows and two dozen arrows yearly on 10 October.
The Maryland colonial government dissolved the Assateague's "empire", made the title of Emperor merely honorary, and placed each town directly under provincial authority.