Metacom, Also Called Metacomet, King Philip, Or Philip of Pokanoket (Born C

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Metacom, also called Metacomet, King Philip, or Philip of Pokanoket (born c. 1638, Massachusetts—died August 12, 1676, Rhode Island), sachem (intertribal leader) of a confederation of indigenous peoples that included the Wampanoag and Narraganset. Metacom led one of the most costly wars of resistance in New England history, known as King Philip’s War (1675–76). Metacom was the second son of Massasoit, a Wampanoag sachem who had managed to keep peace with the English colonizers of Massachusetts and Rhode Island for many decades. Upon Massasoit’s death (1661) and that of his eldest son, Wamsutta (English name Alexander), the following year, Metacom became sachem. He succeeded to the position during a period characterized by increasing exchanges of Indian land for English guns, ammunition, liquor, and blankets. He recognized that these sales threatened indigenous sovereignty and was further disconcerted by the humiliations to which he and his people were continually subjected by the colonizers. He was, for example, summoned to Taunton in 1671 and required to sign a new peace agreement that included the surrender of Indian guns. Metacom’s dignity and steadfastness both impressed and frightened the settlers, who eventually demonized him as a menace that could not be controlled. For 13 years he kept the region’s towns and villages on edge with the fear of an Indian uprising. Finally, in June 1675, violence erupted when three Wampanoag warriors were executed by Plymouth authorities for the murder of John Sassamon, a tribal informer. Metacom’s coalition, comprising the Wampanoag, Narraganset, Abenaki, Nipmuc, and Mohawk, was at first victorious. However, after a year of savage fighting during which some 3,000 Indians and 600 colonists were killed, food became scarce, and the indigenous alliance began to disintegrate. Seeing that defeat was imminent, Metacom returned to his ancestral home at Mount Hope, where he was betrayed by an informer and killed in a final battle. He was beheaded and quartered and his head displayed on a pole for 25 years at Plymouth. .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

The Decline of Algonquian Tongues and the Challenge of Indian Identity in Southern New England
Losing the Language: The Decline of Algonquian Tongues and the Challenge of Indian Identity in Southern New England DA YID J. SIL VERMAN Princeton University In the late nineteenth century, a botanist named Edward S. Burgess visited the Indian community of Gay Head, Martha's Vineyard to interview native elders about their memories and thus "to preserve such traditions in relation to their locality." Among many colorful stories he recorded, several were about august Indians who on rare, long -since passed occasions would whisper to one another in the Massachusett language, a tongue that younger people could not interpret. Most poignant were accounts about the last minister to use Massachusett in the Gay Head Baptist Church. "While he went on preaching in Indian," Burgess was told, "there were but few of them could know what he meant. Sometimes he would preach in English. Then if he wanted to say something that was not for all to hear, he would talk to them very solemnly in the Indian tongue, and they would cry and he would cry." That so few understood what the minister said was reason enough for the tears. "He was asked why he preached in the Indian language, and he replied: 'Why to keep up my nation.' " 1 Clearly New England natives felt the decline of their ancestral lan guages intensely, and yet Burgess never asked how they became solely English speakers. Nor have modem scholars addressed this problem at any length. Nevertheless, investigating the process and impact of Algonquian language loss is essential for a fuller understanding Indian life during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and even beyond.
[Show full text]
(King Philip's War), 1675-1676 Dissertation Presented in Partial
Connecticut Unscathed: Victory in The Great Narragansett War (King Philip’s War), 1675-1676 Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Major Jason W. Warren, M.A. Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2011 Dissertation Committee: John F. Guilmartin Jr., Advisor Alan Gallay, Kristen Gremillion Peter Mansoor, Geoffrey Parker Copyright by Jason W. Warren 2011 Abstract King Philip’s War (1675-1676) was one of the bloodiest per capita in American history. Although hostile native groups damaged much of New England, Connecticut emerged unscathed from the conflict. Connecticut’s role has been obscured by historians’ focus on the disasters in the other colonies as well as a misplaced emphasis on “King Philip,” a chief sachem of the Wampanoag groups. Although Philip formed the initial hostile coalition and served as an important leader, he was later overshadowed by other sachems of stronger native groups such as the Narragansetts. Viewing the conflict through the lens of a ‘Great Narragansett War’ brings Connecticut’s role more clearly into focus, and indeed enables a more accurate narrative for the conflict. Connecticut achieved success where other colonies failed by establishing a policy of moderation towards the native groups living within its borders. This relationship set the stage for successful military operations. Local native groups, whether allied or neutral did not assist hostile Indians, denying them the critical intelligence necessary to coordinate attacks on Connecticut towns. The English colonists convinced allied Mohegan, Pequot, and Western Niantic warriors to support their military operations, giving Connecticut forces a decisive advantage in the field.
[Show full text]
Harvest Ceremony
ATLANTIC OCEAN PA\\' fl.. Xf I I' I \ f 0 H I PI \ \. I \I ION •,, .._ "', Ll ; ~· • 4 .. O\\'\\1S s-'' f1r~~' ~, -~J.!!!I • .. .I . _f' .~h\ ,. \ l.J rth..i'i., \ inc-v •.u d .. .. .... Harvest Ceremony BEYOND THE THANK~GIVING MYTH - a study guide Harvest Ceremony BEYOND THE THANKSGIVING MYTH Summary: Native American people who first encountered the “pilgrims” at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts play a major role in the imagination of American people today. Contemporary celebrations of the Thanksgiving holiday focus on the idea that the “first Thanksgiving” was a friendly gathering of two disparate groups—or even neighbors—who shared a meal and lived harmoniously. In actuality, the assembly of these people had much more to do with political alliances, diplomacy, and an effort at rarely achieved, temporary peaceful coexistence. Although Native American people have always given thanks for the world around them, the Thanksgiving celebrated today is more a combination of Puritan religious practices and the European festival called Harvest Home, which then grew to encompass Native foods. The First People families, but a woman could inherit the position if there was no male heir. A sachem could be usurped by In 1620, the area from Narragansett Bay someone belonging to a sachem family who was able in eastern Rhode Island to the Atlantic Ocean in to garner the allegiance of enough people. An unjust or southeastern Massachusetts, including Cape Cod, unwise sachem could find himself with no one to lead, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, was the home as sachems had no authority to force the people to do of the Wampanoag.
[Show full text]
The Tribal Warriors; and the Powwows, Who Were Wise Men and Shamans
63 A TRIPARTITE POLITICAL SYSTEM AMONG CHRISTIAN INDIANS OF EARLY MASSACHUSETTS Susan L. MacCulloch University of California, Berkeley In seventeenth century colonial Massachusetts there existed for a brief but memorable period about twenty towns of various size and success inhabited entirely by Christian Indians. These towns of converts were islands in a sea of opposing currents, for unconverted Indians scorned them, and un- trusting English opposed them. The towns and their inception is a story in itself (see Harvey [MacCulloch] 1965:M.A. thesis); but it will suffice here to note that in the established Indian towns the inhabitants dressed in English clothes, were learning or already practicing their "callings" or trades, and were earnest Puritan churchgoers. They were able to read and write in Indian (and some in English), took logic and theology courses from Rev. John Eliot in the summer, and sent their promising young men to the Indian College at Harvard. Furthermore, they had extensive farmed land, live- stock, and orchards, and participated in a market economy with the somewhat incredulous colonists. The picture, in short, was not the one usually de- scribed in grammar school history books of the red savage faced by the colonists. One of the most interesting aspects of the Praying Towns, as they were called, was their unique political system, made up of the English colonial and the traditional tribal systems; and superimposed on both of these was a biblical arrangement straight out of Moses. In order to fully appreciate this tripartite political system some background information about the native and colonial systems is helpful.
[Show full text]
Massasoits Town Sowams in Pokanoket
’ Massasoit s Town S owam s i n P okan oke t I TS H I S TO RY L EG EN D S A RA N D T D I TI ON S . By V I RGI NIA B AKE R Auth or of H t f W rr n R I i n h e W ar of th e R v lut n The s or o a e . t e o i y , o i LIB Q A n Y o f (30 51 6 9 63 5 Two C opi e s Rece i ve d MAR g 1904 Copyri g h t k wi ry 8 l w a x . 0 t g Cb C LAS S XXc. No ' fi 8 8 8f d ’ C OPY ' W rren 'ere r t be e the r le n t on a wh fi s sid c ad d a i , The old e too we love t tor e t chi f s d , hy s i d pas , S owam s is ple asan t for a habitation ’ — Twas thy first history may it be thy las t . — B W HE Z E KI AH UTTE R ORTH . C opy rig h t 1 904 b y V i rg i ni a B a k e r ’ M a s s a s o i t s T o w n S o w a m s i n P o k a n o k e t PECULIAR interest centres about everything per the s s s s taining to great Wampanoag achem Ma a oit .
[Show full text]
Colonial Consequence: King Philip’S War
Colonial Consequence: King Philip’s War Name: A devastating outcome of European colonialism in the New World was a series of wars that involved and affected both Europeans and Native Americans. The bloodiest of these wars was King Philip’s War. This exercise uses a map made in 1677 by John Foster, an English colonist who was attempting to illustrate the locations of the significant battles of King Philip’s War. Before beginning the worksheet, note the compass rose on the bottom of the map. What direction is placed at the top?_____________________ Precursors to the Conflict – Land Encroachment The English colonists were especially guilty of land encroachment. By the time Metacomet, known as King Philip to the English, became Massasoit (“Great Leader”) of the Wampanoag Confederacy, the English had already founded several towns in Wampanoag territory, even though Metacomet’s father had been a loyal ally to the English. A few of these towns include: Hartford Winsor Springfield Hadly Northampton Deerfield Find each town on John Foster’s Map. What do each of these towns have in common? Why would European settlers be attracted to this area? Find the territories of the Pequids, the Nipnucks, and the Narragansett on Foster’s map. Whose territory is closest to Plymouth? Why do you think the Wampanoag Territory wasn’t included? 1 Precursors to the Conflict – Suspicions and Rumors Metacomet’s older brother, Wamsutta, had been Massasoit for only a year when he died suspiciously on his way home from being detained by the governor of Plymouth Colony. Metacomet, already distrustful towards Europeans, likely suspected the colonists of assassinating his brother.
[Show full text]
Metacom, (Metacomet, King Philip)
Heroes Metacom (Metacomet, King Philip) 1640–1676 Metacom, also known as Metacomet or King Philip, was born in 1640. He was the son of Massasoit, the Native American chief of the Wampanoag tribe. Metacom and his tribe inhabited the southeastern Massachusetts where the Pilgrims landed. Chief Massasoit and the Pilgrims signed a peace treaty in 1621. Massasoit befriended the Pilgrims by selling them land. Metacom, along with his older brother Wamsutta, attended the school the colonists ran. They were taught about the colonists’ culture and to speak English. The colonists gave Metacom the English name Philip, and Wamsutta was named Alexander. Metacom married a Wootonekanuske, and they had several children. After Massasoit died in 1661, Wamsutta became chief of the Wampanoag tribe. In 1662 he sold land to new settlers, without consulting the Plymouth government officials. This angered the officials, who wanted to control land ownership. They ordered Wamsutta’s arrest. The colonists also demanded he pay a yearly tribute to them, and then set him free. On his return home Wamsutta became ill and died. Though he may have died from disease, Metacom and his tribe believed the colonists’ had poisoned Wamsutta. Metacom, who was now chief of the Wampanoag tribe, became concerned about the relationship between the tribes and the colonists. By the late 1660s colonists outnumbered American Indians. Land sales to colonists became a problem for the tribes. Colonists’ payments to tribal chiefs were considered gifts. The colonists believed they owned the land for which they had paid. The Indians confiscated or killed colonists’ livestock that wandered onto tribal land.
[Show full text]
Mayflower Story.Pdf
OFFICIAL Mayflower Story The Mayflower set sail on 16th September 1620 from Plymouth, UK, to voyage to America, known to English explorers at the time as the New World. But its history and story start long before that. Its passengers were in search of a new life. They would go on to be known as the Pilgrims influencing the future of the United States of America in ways they could never have imagined. This story isn't just about the Mayflower's passengers though. It's about the people who already lived in America such as the Wampanoag tribe and the enormous effect the arrival of these colonists would have on Native Americans and the land they had called home for centuries. The Passengers More than 30 million people, including many celebrities, can trace their ancestry to the 102 passengers and approximately 30 crew aboard the Mayflower when it landed in Plymouth Bay, Massachusetts, in the harsh winter of 1620. On board were men, women and children from different walks of life across England and the city of Leiden, Holland. A significant number were known as Separatists - people who mostly wanted to live free from the current Church of England, under the ruling of Henry VIII, which dictated all aspects of life and to dispute that rule was a path ending in prosecution. Others were on the ship anticipating the chance to build a better future, the opportunity of new land and the offer of freedom and adventure. The passengers are often grouped into ‘Saints’ or ‘Strangers’ by historians, alluding to their motivations for the journey.
[Show full text]
Notes on Cole's Hill
NOTES ON COLE’S HILL by Edward R. Belcher Pilgrim Society Note, Series One, Number One, 1954 The designation of Cole‟s Hill as a registered National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, was announced at the Annual Meeting of the Pilgrim Society on December 21, 1961. An official plaque will be placed on Cole‟s Hill. The formal application for this designation, made by the Society, reads in part: "... Fully conscious of the high responsibility to the Nation that goes with the ownership and care of a property classified as ... worthy of Registered National Historic Landmark status ... we agree to preserve... to the best of our ability, the historical integrity of this important part of our national cultural heritage ..." A tablet mounted on the granite post at the top of the steps on Cole‟s Hill bears this inscription: "In memory of James Cole Born London England 1600 Died Plymouth Mass 1692 First settler of Coles Hill 1633 A soldier in Pequot Indian War 1637 This tablet erected by his descendants1917" Cole‟s Hill, rising from the shore near the center of town and overlooking the Rock and the harbor, has occupied a prominent place in the affairs of the community. Here were buried the bodies of those who died during the first years of the settlement. From it could be watched the arrivals and departures of the many fishing and trading boats and the ships that came from time to time. In times of emergency, the Hill was fortified for the protection of the town.
[Show full text]
Episodes from a Hudson River Town Peak of the Catskills, Ulster County’S 4,200-Foot Slide Mountain, May Have Poked up out of the Frozen Terrain
1 Prehistoric Times Our Landscape and First People The countryside along the Hudson River and throughout Greene County always has been a lure for settlers and speculators. Newcomers and longtime residents ﬁnd the waterway, its tributaries, the Catskills, and our hills and valleys a primary reason for living and enjoying life here. New Baltimore and its surroundings were formed and massaged by the dynamic forces of nature, the result of ongoing geologic events over millions of years.1 The most prominent geographic features in the region came into being during what geologists called the Paleozoic era, nearly 550 million years ago. It was a time when continents collided and parted, causing upheavals that pushed vast land masses into hills and mountains and complementing lowlands. The Kalkberg, the spiny ridge running through New Baltimore, is named for one of the rock layers formed in ancient times. Immense seas covered much of New York and served as collect- ing pools for sediments that consolidated into today’s rock formations. The only animals around were simple forms of jellyﬁsh, sponges, and arthropods with their characteristic jointed legs and exoskeletons, like grasshoppers and beetles. The next integral formation event happened 1.6 million years ago during the Pleistocene epoch when the Laurentide ice mass developed in Canada. This continental glacier grew unyieldingly, expanding south- ward and retreating several times, radically altering the landscape time and again as it traveled. Greene County was buried. Only the highest 5 © 2011 State University of New York Press, Albany 6 / Episodes from a Hudson River Town peak of the Catskills, Ulster County’s 4,200-foot Slide Mountain, may have poked up out of the frozen terrain.
[Show full text]
National Programme Announcement
NATIONAL PROGRAMME ANNOUNCEMENT Steering our future, inspired by the past. Mayflower400UK.org NATIONAL PROGRAMME ANNOUNCEMENT 400 Years - 400 Moments Mayflower 400: Commemorating Great Britain’s 2020 is the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s voyage, connection with the US and Netherlands, bringing one of the most influential journeys in global history and a nations and communities together through an defining moment in the shared history of Britain, the US and the Netherlands. exceptional programme of heritage and modern culture that explores arguably the most influential The international Mayflower Compact Partnership has been journey in western history. created to align 11 core UK partner locations across England, alongside the United States of America, the Native American community and the Netherlands. Partners are united in their “ These pages guide you to over 400 events, performances, passion to commemorate the anniversary and to celebrate exhibitions and trails hosted by twenty-three different shared values of Imagination, Freedom, Humanity and destinations from four nations across two continents. the Future. Together they form an international programme In the build up to and during 2020, partner locations commemorating the 400th anniversary of the voyage of have created an international ‘Mayflower Trail’ and an the Mayflower. Binding these nations together is their accompanying world class cultural programme which will unite shared appreciation of the profound legacy of a voyage communities, inspire creativity, drive economic growth and that changed the world. The story of how 102 ordinary promote understanding. Over 400 ‘moments’, ranging from Englishmen and women, resolute in their commitment to international civic ceremonies to local community events.
[Show full text]
Ch. 3 Section 4: Life in the English Colonies Colonial Governments the English Colonies in North America All Had Their Own Governments
Ch. 3 Section 4: Life in the English Colonies Colonial Governments The English colonies in North America all had their own governments. Each government was given power by a charter. The English monarch had ultimate authority over all of the colonies. A group of royal advisers called the Privy Council set English colonial policies. Colonial Governors and Legislatures Each colony had a governor who served as head of the government. Most governors were assisted by an advisory council. In royal colonies the English king or queen selected the governor and the council members. In proprietary colonies, the proprietors chose all of these officials. In a few colonies, such as Connecticut, the people elected the governor. In some colonies the people also elected representatives to help make laws and set policy. These officials served on assemblies. Each colonial assembly passed laws that had to be approved first by the advisory council and then by the governor. Established in 1619, Virginia's assembly was the first colonial legislature in North America. At first it met as a single body, but was later split into two houses. The first house was known as the Council of State. The governor's advisory council and the London Company selected its members. The House of Burgesses was the assembly's second house. The members were elected by colonists. It was the first democratically elected body in the English colonies. In New England the center of politics was the town meeting. In town meetings people talked about and decided on issues of local interest, such as paying for schools.
[Show full text]