Massasoit Sachem () or Ousamequin (c. 15811661)"Native People" (page), "Massasoit (Ousamequin) Sachem" (section),''MayflowerFamilies.com'', web pag

was the sachem or leader of the Wampanoag 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 ...

, which included parts of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but i ...

and much of southeastern

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Massasoit lived in Sowams, a village at Pokanoket in Warren, Rhode Island. He held the allegiance of lesser Pokanoket sachems. In 1621, he sent Squanto 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 province ...

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. ...

in Rhode Island. Samoset was a minor Abenakki sachem (''sagamore'') who hailed from the Muscongus Bay area of

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

, 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 o ...

, 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 surr ...

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 Narragan ...

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, 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 Hills ...

warriors intended to destroy both the

Wessagusset Wessagusset Colony (sometimes called the Weston Colony or Weymouth Colony) was a short-lived English trading colony in New England located in Weymouth, Massachusetts. It was settled in August 1622 by between fifty and sixty colonists who were ill-p ...

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 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 artist ...

Children

Massasoit had five children: son Wamsutta, 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 of the Pokanokets 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 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 the ...

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 Seekonk River is a tidal extension of the Providence River in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 8 km (5 mi). The name may be derived from an Algonquian word for skunk, or for black goose. The river is home ...

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

, one of the bloodiest wars in Colonial American history. A statue of Massasoit by sculptor Cyrus E. Dallin stands near Plymouth Rock, with others outside the Utah State Capitol building, on the campus of Brigham Young University, at the Springville Museum of Art in Springville, Utah, and in Kansas City, Missouri 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.

References

Sources

*"Native People" (page), "Massasoit (Ousamequin) Sachem" (section), ''MayflowerFamilies.com'', webpage
MFcom-Native
* * * Nathaniel Philbrick, ''Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War,'' New York 2006.

External link

* * * {{Authority control 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