Harrison, Sam and Delana
The great thanksgiving of 1621
The Pilgrims first thanksgiving was a great event of peace between the Wampanoag and the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims were celebrating because of their first successful harvest and the hope of many more to come. There were approximately fifty pilgrims and ninety Wampanoag including chief Massasoit. The celebration lasted for three days. Each day was filled with good food, entertainment, and spirit. The pilgrims supplied food they had harvested that year. The Wampanoag brought five hunted deer. Although this was a day of thanks for the pilgrims it was not considered like one our present day thanksgivings. In fact the first official thanksgiving happened in1623. The Wampanoag were almost the exact opposite for they had been celebrating their thanks for numerous years previous. The thanksgiving of 1621 was a great meeting between the pilgrims and the Wampanoag and promised piece for the time being, although the piece between these two groups would not last forever
Wampanoag Encounters with the English
In the 1500s, the Wampanoags contacted European fishing and trading vessels that traveled the New England coast. Although most were friendly, some were not. Many European captains captured Native Americans and sold them as slaves in Europe. Then the Pilgrims arrived in Cape Cod on November 11, 1620. The Pilgrims chose to build their settlement on the village of Patuxet that had been wiped out by an epidemic. The 10 years before the arrival of the pilgrims resulted in 75% of the Wampanoag being wiped out through the Tarrateen war (1607-1615), Pequot invasions from the south, and Mimac war parties from the North. The Wampanoag hoped the English would be useful allies. The Wampanoag signed a treaty with the English giving the English permission to occupy 12,000 acres of land. In 1623, when Massasoit (leader of the Wampanoag) became ill, the English nursed him back to full health. In 1632, the Narragansett attacked Massasoit’s village. The Narragansett had to give up the attack when the English fought alongside the Wampanoag.
By 1630 most of the inhabitants of Plymouth were not the Pilgrims, but Puritans. The English rapidly expanded their territory, conquering the very powerful Pequot confederacy. The English then became allies with the Mohegan tribe and together they defeated the Narragansett in a war. Only the Dutch and their allies the Mohawk stood in the way of the English having total control of New England. This conflict introduced firearms to the Mohawk tribe, escalating what became known as the Beaver Wars. In 1664, the English captured New York from the Dutch and signed a treaty with the Mohawk. Meanwhile large numbers of people were emigrating from England to America.
In 1661, Massasoit died. At the same time, the English were taking over the Native American’s culture. Shortly before his death, Massasoit renamed his sons. Wamsutta was renamed Alexander and Metacomet was renamed Philip. After Massasoit’s death, Alexander became the leader of the Wampanoag. The English did not like how he had an independent attitude towards the English. So the English invited Alexander to a dinner in Plymouth. Alexander became ill and died that night. The English had poisoned him!
Philip became the leader of the Wampanoag and was determined to stop the expansion
of the English. The Wampanoag only had 1,000 people at the time, so Philip traveled and contacted other tribes winning their support for the conflict. He eventually gathered 15,000, but the English still outnumbered them with 35,000. The English knew through Praying Indians acting as spies what was going on. In 1671, the English had a meeting with Philip and demanded he give up his firearms. Philip signed an agreement to give up his weapons, but left without ever giving them up. As the English continued to advance into Native American land, the Nipmuc, Pocumutuc, and Narragansett joined Philip’s Cause. The rebellion (war) was planned for the spring of 1676. In January of 1675, John Sassamon, a Christian Indian informer, was found dead in Assowampet Pond. Three Wampanoag warriors were tried for murder and hanged. Philip held a counsel of war at Mount Hope. The Narragansett and Nauset were forced to remain neutral (the Narragansett were unprepared and had to sign a peace treaty with the English). The Nipmuc, Pocumutuc, Pennacook, and Abenaki were ready for war.
In June of 1675, a Wampanoag was killed near the English town of Swansea, and so King Philip’s War (1675-1676) began. The Wampanoag attacked Swansea, Taunton, Tiverton, and Dartmouth. The Wampanoag were well armed with guns from the French, Dutch, and even the English. They also had their own forges and gunsmiths. The neutral tribe would even provide food and shelter for the Wampanoag. The Mohegan, on the other hand were only tribe loyal to the English. All but 500 of the Praying Indians joined Philip in the war. In July of 1675, the English gathered an army at Plymouth and marched on Mount Hope, destroying every village in their path. The English trapped the Wampanoag in a swamp, but the women and children escaped from Pocasset Neck across the bay to Queen Weetamoo, leader of the Pocaset. (who was Alexander’s (Philip’s brother) widow). Then Philip slipped away with his warriors, leaving the English attacking a swamp. Philip moved into Nipmuc territory leaving the women and children with the Narragansett. The Nipmuc then raided Brookfield and Worcester. Then with the Pocutumuc, they attacked many settlements in the Connecticut River Valley. A force under Captain Beers was attacked south of the recently destroyed Northfield. Then Deerfield and Hadley were attacked, forcing the survivors to live in Deerfield. Without food for the Winter, Captain Thomas Lothrop decided to retrieve some crops from Hadley. On the way back, seven hundred Pocutumucs ambushed the ninety-eight men. Only seven survived.
Philip started attacking settlements that were farther south. He attacked Hatfield, Springfield, Westfield, and Northampton. In the winter of 1675, Philip gathered in Hoosick, New York. There he gathered support from the Sokoki, and a few Mahican and Mohawk. The English, meanwhile, demanded that the Narragansett surrender any Wampanoag who were with them and join the English in the war. When the Narragansett refused, Governor Josiah Winslow and his 1,000-man army attacked the Narragansett on December 19, 1675 at a fort in Kingston, Rhode Island. This became known as the Great Swamp Battle. In the end, the Narragansett lost 600 warriors. The English lost many as well and did not follow the surviving Narragansett, who were led by Canonchet. Meanwhile, Philip was forced out of New York by the Mohawks. Philip moved to Squawkeag, Connecticut. Philip then attacked Lancaster, Medfield, Weymouth, Groton, Warwick, Marlborough, Rehoboth, Plymouth, Chelmsford, Andover, Sudbury, Brookfield, Scituate, Bridgewater, and Namasket using fire. Many English soldiers were ambushed as well. In March, Canonchet and the Narragansett killed a group of sixty soldiers and an ambush killed seventy more. Philip was able to recruit more warriors to his cause, but was unable to feed them. In the spring of 1676, the Narragansett and Pocumtuc attacked Northfield and Deerfield. These attacks resulted in heavy losses for the Native Americans. Canonchet said he would go and get some corn from a secret stash on Rhode Island. On the way back, he was captured and killed by the Mohegan.
This was ultimately the turning point of King Philip's War. Philip moved his camp to Mount Wachusett. Meanwhile, the English were mobilizing the Praying Indians as scouts. In May, Captain William Turner attacked a fishing camp at Turner's Falls, killing over 400, including Pocumtuc Sachem Sancumanchu. Turner lost only 43 men before retreating. The Confederacy began to break up after that. Some Nipmuc and Pocumtuc took sanctuary in New York. Others joined with Sokoki and moved North to Canada. The Wampanoag chose to return home to Massachusetts. Captain Benjamin Church's rangers and Praying Indian scouts chased down Philip, and on August 1st Philip escaped from an attack on his village, but his wife and son were captured (they joined the Sokoki tribe). On August 6th, the Pocasset were caught near Taunton. Queen Weetamoo drowned trying to escape (her head was cut off and then displayed it in Taunton). Philip and Anawon hid in the swamp near Mount Hope. John Alderman (Christian Indian Informer) guided Benjamin Church's Rangers to Philip and the shot and killed Philip himself. Alderman received one of Philip's hands as reward and Philip's head was displayed on a pole in Plymouth for 25 years. The war should have ended there, but it lasted another two years. In the end 600 English died, and thirteen settlements were destroyed. It is estimated that 9,000 Native Americans were killed and many tribes were eliminated completely.
The Wampanoag Today
Today there are about 4,000 Wampanoag. Some live in their original homelands and others do not. The Wampanoag are governed by a tribal council that is voted on by the people of the Wampanoag tribe. The tribal council consists of a chairperson, vice chairperson, secretary, and a treasurer. They also have a chief and Medicine man who are on the council for their entire life. Tribal meetings are open to everyone so that everyone can have a say in the decisions. The Wampanoag own approximately 481 acres of land. In 1987 the Aquinnah Wampanoag received official federal recognition as a tribe. The Wampanoag continue their traditions by doing powwows and having special celebrations such as Cranberry Harvest Day, Spring Social, and Legend of the Moshup. They also continue to do traditional art such as basket making, rattles, drums etc. traditional forms have also expanded to include jewelry making. The Wampanoag continue to thrive today and are making strides towards economic self-sufficiency. The Aquinnah Cultural center offers job opportunities and teaches courses about the Aquinnah, and they also have a museum.
Wampanoa culturaul center.
Books And WebPages
Sultzman, Lee. "Wampanoag History." http://tolatsga.org/wampa.html. 15 Oct.
2 Flanagan, Alice K. The Wampanoags. Canada: Children's Press A Division of
Grolier Publishing, 1998.008. 15 Oct. 2008 <http://tolatsga.org/>. Path: Wampanoag.
Levy, Janey. The Wamapanoag. New York: The Rosen Publishig Group's PowerKids
Press, 2005.
Tribal Profile." Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head. 28 Oct. 2008
<http://www.wampanoagtribe.net/Pages/Wampanoag_Planning/profile>.
Schultz, Eric B, and Michael J Tougias. "A Day of Thanksgiving, a Day of
Morning." Samoset and Squanto: 38 - 39.
"Thanksgiving." Plimoth Plantation. 28 Oct. 2008 <http://www.plimoth.org/kids/
homeworkHelp/thanksgiving.php>. Path: Plimoth Plantation.
Pictures
http://www.geo.umass.edu/faculty/wilkie/Wilkie/hist_mass_p15-1.jpg
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