King Philip’s War

Massasoit was a friend of the English colonists Massasoit was a friend of the English colonists. The first New England settlers might not have survived without his help, and they knew it.

Massasoit’s people, the Wampanoags, were hunters and fishermen and farmers whose lives turned with the cycle of the seasons. They were peaceful people and good neighbors.

A year after the Pilgrims arrived, Massasoit signed a treaty of peace with them. For more than 50 years, while he lived, there was peace in Massachusetts.

But, even before Massasoit died, there were some – Indians and English – who saw trouble ahead. Mostly, it was because there were so many English men and women. At first there had been only a few of these newcomers, but soon they were pushing the natives off the land.

Massasoit’s two sons were troubled Massasoit’s two sons were troubled. Their generation was different from that of their father. They were not awed by the English, as their father sometimes seemed. The two boys were Wamsutta (Alexander) and Metacom (Philip).

When his father died. Wamsutta-Alexander became ruler When his father died. Wamsutta-Alexander became ruler. Some Englishmen feared him. They sent troops, dragged him to Plymouth, threatened him, and acted haughty and superior.

Alexander became ill and died on his way home Alexander became ill and died on his way home. Metacom-Philip was now leader of his people. He believed the English had killed his brother, and he wanted revenge.

Besides, Metacom saw that the new people were destroying his land Besides, Metacom saw that the new people were destroying his land. And so Metacom began visiting other Indian leaders trying to convince them to join him to fight the English and drive them from America. That was not easy. There was no history of Indian unity.

Metacom wasn’t ready when war began Metacom wasn’t ready when war began. As with many wars, it was really an accident that started things. A Christian Indian named John Sassamon was killed. Sassamon had been to Harvard and was a friend of the Plymouth colonists.

Today, no one is sure who killed him, but the English executed three members of Metacom’s tribe for the murder. Metacom was furious. He attacked for revenge.

King Philip’s War had begun King Philip’s War had begun. It was fought, off and on, for two years, 1675 and 1676, and it was horrible. Both sides were incredibly brutal.

Six hundred colonists lost their lives in King Philip’s War; 3,0000 Indians lost theirs. Fifty of ninety English villages were attacked, many were burned to the ground.

The peaceful Narraganset Indians, who had nothing to do with the war, were massacred on their own land in Rhode Island because some of the settlers now feared all Indians. Many innocent white people were killed in Indian raids of revenge.

Indian disunity hurt their cause. Some tribes helped the English Indian disunity hurt their cause. Some tribes helped the English. In addition, Indian warriors weren’t used to long wars. They knew how to attack and destroy in quick raids. When the war went on and on, many Indians got tired of it.

They wanted to plant their crops and get back to normal activities They wanted to plant their crops and get back to normal activities. They deserted their leader. Finally Metacom was trapped in a swamp, where he was killed by an Indian who was loyal to the colonists.

Metacom’s head was chopped off and hung on the fort at Plymouth – there it stayed for 25 years.

His wife, children, and other captured Indians were sold in the West Indies as slaves. It was a pattern that was repeated over and over again until the Indians could fight no more.