The Yaocomaco village was a small agrarian settlement surrounded by forest. It was only a short distance from the Chesapeake Bay, seen at the top of this image. Closeness to the Bay had both advantages and disadvantages. It provided easy access by Indian groups such as the Susquehannock and Massawomeck for raiding. As John Smith found, such raiding had depopulated the upper western shore of the Chesapeake (See Image 15). These raids continued in the 1620s and 1630s, and prompted the Yaocomaco to relocate their settlement. This is one reason they willingly allowed the Maryland colonists to acquire their village in 1634.