Massasoit Sachem () or Ousamequin (c. 15811661)
["Native People" (page), "Massasoit (Ousamequin) Sachem" (section),''MayflowerFamilies.com'', web pag]
was the
sachem
Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...
or leader of the
Wampanoag
The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. ...
confederacy. ''Massasoit'' means ''Great Sachem''.
Massasoit's people had been seriously weakened by a series of epidemics and were vulnerable to attacks by the
Narragansetts, and he formed an alliance with the colonists at
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was, from 1620 to 1691, the first permanent English colony in New England and the second permanent English colony in North America, after the Jamestown Colony. It was first settled by the passengers on the ...
for defense against them. It was through his assistance that the Plymouth Colony avoided starvation during the early years.
English at Plymouth
At the time of the pilgrims' arrival in Plymouth, the realm of the Wampanoag, also known as the
Pokanokets
The Pokanoket (also spelled PakanokickKathleen J. Bragdon, ''Native People of Southern New England, 1500–1650'', page 21) was the village governed by Massasoit (Wampanoag, c. 1581–1661). The term broadened to refer to all peoples and lands go ...
, which included parts of
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
and much of southeastern
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
.
Massasoit lived in Sowams, a village at
Pokanoket
The Pokanoket (also spelled PakanokickKathleen J. Bragdon, ''Native People of Southern New England, 1500–1650'', page 21) was the village governed by Massasoit (Wampanoag, c. 1581–1661). The term broadened to refer to all peoples and lands g ...
in
Warren, Rhode Island
Warren is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 11,147 at the 2020 census.
History
Warren was the site of the Pokanoket Indian settlement of Sowams located on a peninsula within the Pokanoket region. The re ...
. He held the allegiance of lesser Pokanoket sachems. In 1621, he sent
Squanto
Tisquantum (; 1585 (±10 years?) – late November 1622 O.S.), more commonly known as Squanto Sam (), was a member of the Patuxet tribe best known for being an early liaison between the Native American population in Southern New England and ...
to live among the colonists at Plymouth.
Outbreaks of an unidentified disease had devastated the Pokanokets, and Massasoit sought an alliance with the colonies of
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
against the neighboring Narragansetts who controlled an area west of
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sm ...
in Rhode Island.
Samoset was a minor Abenakki sachem (''sagamore'') who hailed from the
Muscongus Bay area of
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...
, and he learned to speak English from fishermen who plied those waters. Massasoit sent him to approach the colonists to find out whether their intentions were peaceful.
Massasoit forged critical political and personal ties with colonial leaders
William Bradford,
Edward Winslow,
Stephen Hopkins,
John Carver, and
Myles Standish
Myles Standish (c. 1584 – October 3, 1656) was an English military officer and colonizer. He was hired as military adviser for Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, United States by the Pilgrims. Standish accompanied the Pilgrims on ...
, ties which grew out of a
peace treaty
A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an agreement to stop hostilities; a surre ...
negotiated on March 22, 1621. The alliance ensured that the Pokanokets remained neutral during the
Pequot War
The Pequot War was an armed conflict that took place between 1636 and 1638 in New England between the Pequot tribe and an alliance of the colonists from the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies and their allies from the Narraga ...
in 1636.
["Pokanoket Leaders", Wampanoag Nation]
/ref> According to English sources, Massasoit prevented the failure of Plymouth Colony and the starvation that the Pilgrims faced during its earliest years.[
]
Lasting alliance
Some tension continued between Massasoit and the colonists when they refused to give up Squanto
Tisquantum (; 1585 (±10 years?) – late November 1622 O.S.), more commonly known as Squanto Sam (), was a member of the Patuxet tribe best known for being an early liaison between the Native American population in Southern New England and ...
, whom Massasoit believed to have betrayed him. This was resolved in March 1623 when Massasoit was gravely ill and Edward Winslow nursed him back to health. After his recovery, Winslow reports that Massasoit said, "the English are my friends and love me... whilst I live I will never forget this kindness they have showed me." In return for their kindness, Massasoit warned them of a plot against them. He had learned that a group of influential Massachusett
The Massachusett were a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hil ...
warriors intended to destroy both the Wessagusset and Plymouth colonies, and he warned the Pilgrims in time.
The alliance came under other tension in later years, as the colonists expanded into new lands in order to support their growing colony. Massasoit sold a tract of land 14 miles square to Myles Standish and others of Duxbury
Duxbury (alternative older spelling: "Duxborough") is a historic seaside town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb located on the South Shore approximately to the southeast of Boston, the population was 16,090 at the 20 ...
in 1649 to alleviate tension and maintain the peace. The sale took place atop Sachem Rock, an outcropping on the Satucket River in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
.
Children
Massasoit had five children: son Wamsutta
Wamsutta ( 16341662), also known as Alexander Pokanoket, as he was called by New England colonists, was the eldest son of Massasoit (meaning Great Leader) Ousa Mequin of the Pokanoket Tribe and Wampanoag nation, and brother of Metacomet.
Life
W ...
, who was born between 1621 and 1625; son Pometecomet, Metacomet, or Metacom; son Sonkanuchoo; and daughters Amie and Sarah. Soon after his death, Wamsutta and Metacomet went to Plymouth and asked the Pilgrims to give them English names. The court named them Alexander and Philip. Wamsutta, the eldest, became sachem
Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...
of the Pokanoket
The Pokanoket (also spelled PakanokickKathleen J. Bragdon, ''Native People of Southern New England, 1500–1650'', page 21) was the village governed by Massasoit (Wampanoag, c. 1581–1661). The term broadened to refer to all peoples and lands g ...
s on the death of his father. He died within a year, and his brother Metacom succeeded him in 1662. Amie married Tispaquin and was the only one of Massasoit's five children to survive King Philip's War
King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...
in 1676.
Legacy
Roger Williams
Roger Williams (21 September 1603between 27 January and 15 March 1683) was an English-born New England Puritan minister, theologian, and author who founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantatio ...
fled the Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as th ...
to avoid arrest and deportation for religious reasons and stayed the winter of 1635–36 with Massasoit, who gave him land along the Seekonk River the following spring. Governor Winslow advised Williams to move his settlement to the other side of the river because his current location was within the bounds of Plymouth Colony. Williams did so and founded Providence Plantations, which later became part of the Colony of Rhode Island
The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It was founded by Roger Williams. It was an English colony from 1636 until 1 ...
.
The half century of peace that Massasoit so assiduously maintained collapsed soon after his death. Wamsutta broke away from his father's diplomacy and began an alliance with Connecticut Colony
The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...
.
Massasoit was humane and honest, kept his word, and endeavored to imbue his people with a love of peace. He kept the Pilgrims advised of any warlike designs toward them by other tribes. It is unclear when Massasoit died. Some accounts claim that it was as early as 1660; others contend that he died as late as 1662. He was anywhere from 80 to 90 at the time.
Wamsutta died suddenly within a year of his succession, and Massasoit's second son Metacom became sachem of the Pokanokets and chief sachem of the Greater Wampanoag Confederacy. He believed that Wamsutta had been murdered at the hands of the Colonists, and this was one of the factors that led to King Philip's War
King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...
, one of the bloodiest wars in Colonial American history.
A statue of Massasoit by sculptor Cyrus E. Dallin
Cyrus Edwin Dallin (November 22, 1861 – November 14, 1944) was an American sculptor best known for his depictions of Native Americans. He created more than 260 works, including the ''Equestrian Statue of Paul Revere'' in Boston, Massa ...
stands near Plymouth Rock
Plymouth Rock is the traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the ''Mayflower'' Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in December 1620. The Pilgrims did not refer to Plymouth Rock in any of their writings; the first known writt ...
, with others outside the Utah State Capitol building, on the campus of Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...
, at the Springville Museum of Art
The Springville Museum of Art in Springville, Utah, United States is the oldest museum for the visual fine arts in Utah. In 1986, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As of 2012, the museum's director is Rita Wrigh ...
in Springville, Utah
Springville is a city in Utah County, Utah that is part of the Provo–Orem metropolitan area. The population was 35,268 in 2020, according to the United States Census. Springville is a bedroom community for commuters who work in the Provo-Or ...
, and in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...
at the corner of Main Street and Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd. In Massachusetts, both Massasoit Community College and Massasoit State Park"Massasoit State Park", Commonwealth of Massachusetts
/ref> are named for him.
See also
* List of early settlers of Rhode Island
References
Sources
*"Native People" (page), "Massasoit (Ousamequin) Sachem" (section), ''MayflowerFamilies.com'', webpage
MFcom-Native
*
*
*Nathaniel Philbrick
Nathaniel Philbrick (born June 11, 1956) is an American author of history, winner of the National Book Award, and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His maritime history, ''In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex,'' which tells ...
, ''Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War,'' New York 2006.
Further reading
* Lisa Blee and Jean M. O'Brien, ''Monumental Mobility: The Memory Work of Massasoit.'' Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2019.
*Virginia Baker, '' Massasoit's Town, Sowams in Pokanoket, Its History Legends and Traditions'', Published by the author, Warren, Rhode Island, 1904
External link
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Native American leaders
Native Americans connected with Plymouth Colony
Plymouth, Massachusetts
1580s births
1661 deaths
Wampanoag people
Tribal chiefs
17th-century Native Americans
Native American people from Massachusetts
Native American history of Massachusetts