Map of the Circle and Square Tracts

This map shows the two tracts of land, known as the Circle and the Square and located in present-day Sussex and Southampton counties, that composed the Nottoway Reservation. In 1705 the House of Burgesses reserved this land—amounting to roughly 40,000 acres—for the Nottoway people. This represented a significant reduction of the traditional Nottoway territory. Also in 1705, the House of Burgesses lifted the Blackwater boundary law, opening land beyond the Blackwater River for colonial settlement. In doing so, they legalized encroachment onto traditional Nottoway lands and the lands of neighboring tribes.