Metacomet

Metacomet (c. 1638 in Massachusetts – August 12, 1676), also known as Pometacom, Metacom, and by his adopted English name King Philip,Lepore, Jill. ''The Name of War: King Philip's War and the Origins of American Identity''
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998. Note: King Philip "was also known as Metacom, or Metacomet. King Philip may well have been a name that he adopted, as it was common for Natives to take other names. King Philip had on several occasions signed as such and has been referred to by other natives by that name." was sachem (elected chief from 1662–1676) to the Wampanoag people and the second son of the sachem Massasoit. Metacomet became sachem after Massasoit's death. Metacomet was killed on August 12, 1676 near Mount Hope, Rhode Island. Scholars say his death marked the end of King Phillip's War (1675–1678).

Metacomet's initial goal was to live in peace with the colonists. His main responsibility was trade with the colonists. This peace changed later on after consistent negative interactions with the colonists.

King Phillip's War occurred between the Wampanoag people and English colonists for the sake of preserving Wampanoag land as the colonies continued to expand.

Family

Metacomet's older brother Wamsutta (also known as King Alexander) briefly became sachem after their father's death in 1661. Metacomet believed their father was poisoned due to English hatred of Native Americans. However, Wamsutta also died shortly thereafter. This led to Metacomet becoming sachem in 1662.

Wamsutta's widow, Weetamoo, female sachem of the Pocasset, became Metacomet's ally and lifelong friend. He married her younger sister, Wootonekanuske.

Following the defeat of the Native Americans in King Philip's War, Wootonekanuske and their only son were imprisoned. Phillip's only son was sold into slavery in the West Indies. It is unclear how many other children Metacomet had or what ultimately happened to them, but scholars note that Metacomet only had one son.

As late as the early 1900s, the Mitchell family of Middleboro, Massachusetts claimed to be descendants of the famous Wampanoag leader.

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Name change

In the spring of 1660, Metacom's brother Wamsutta appeared before the court of Plymouth to request that he and his brother be given English names in accordance with Wampanoag custom, in which new names marked significant moments in time (such as, in this case, Wamsutta's father's death). The court agreed and Wamsutta had his name changed to Alexander, and Metacom's was changed to Philip.

Author Nathaniel Philbrick has suggested that the Wampanoag may have taken action at the urging of Wamsutta's interpreter, the Christian neophyte John Sassamon. Metacom was later called "King Philip" by the English, though king was not a word which could be directly translated into Wampanoag. Historians theorize sachem is the closest in meaning.

King Philip's War

King Philip used tribal alliances to coordinate efforts to push European colonists out of New England. Many of the native tribes in the region wanted to push out the colonists following conflicts over land use, diminished game as a consequence of expanding European settlement, and other tensions.

To the west, the Iroquois Confederation was also fighting against neighboring tribes in the Beaver Wars, pushing them from the west and encroaching on Metacom's territory. Finally, in 1671, the colonial leaders of the Plymouth Colony forced major concessions from Metacom. Metacom surrendered much of his tribe's armament and ammunition, and agreed that they were subject to English law. The encroachment continued until hostilities broke out in 1675.

As the colonists brought their growing numbers to bear, King Philip and some of his followers took refuge in the great Assowampset Swamp in southern Massachusetts. He held out for a time, with his family and remaining followers.

Hunted by a group of rangers led by Captain Benjamin Church, King Philip was fatally shot by a praying Indian named John Alderman, on August 12, 1676, in the Miery Swamp near Mount Hope in Bristol, Rhode Island. He was shot by Alderman for killing his brother. After his death, his wife and nine-year-old son were captured and sold as slaves in Bermuda. Philip's head was mounted on a pike at the entrance to Plymouth, Massachusetts, where it remained for more than two decades. His body was cut into quarters and hung in trees. Alderman was given Philip's right hand as a trophy.

Remaining Native Americans that weren't killed during the war relocated to join other tribes or reservations while many Native American leaders got sold into slavery.

Representations

* Mary Rowlandson, who was taken captive during a raid on Lancaster, Massachusetts, later wrote a memoir about her captivity, and described meeting with Metacom while she was held by his followers.
* Washington Irving relates a romanticized but sympathetic version of Metacom's life in the 1820 sketch "Philip of Pokanoket," published in his collected stories, '' The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.'' (1820).
* Another notable representation of Metacomet is in John Augustus Stone's tragedy play, Metamora; or, the Last of the Wampanoags (1829). The play was very popular during the 1830s and 1840s with significance during this time given the greater political context of Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act. Edwin Forrest played the role of Metacomet. In real life, King Philip is not thought to have spoken during his death. However, this play gave King Philip the last word before his death.
* In his short story " The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1937), Stephen Vincent Benét portrays Metacom as a villain to the colonists, and as being killed by a blow to the head (he was shot in the heart). Webster is portrayed as respecting Metacom as one of those who "formed American history." Metacomet, together with other famous historical villains, is a juror in the "trial of the damned". When convinced that his damnation resulted in his loss of admiration for the natural world, he ultimately takes Webster's side against the Devil. In the film he is replaced by Asa, the Black Monk.
* Metacom is featured in the 1995 film ''The Scarlet Letter'' as the Wampanoags' new chief after his father's death.
* David Kerr Chivers' ''Metacomet's War'' (2008) is an historical novel about King Philip's War.
* Narragansett journalist John Christian Hopkins's novel, ''Carlomagno,'' is a historical novel that imagines Metacom's son becoming a pirate after having been sold into slavery in the West Indies.
* The novel ''My Father's Kingdom'' (2017) by James W. George focuses on the events leading to King Philip's War.
*There is a short section about Metacomet in the prologue of Tommy Orange's novel '' There There'' (2018).

Legacy

Numerous notable places are named after Metacomet:
* Metacomet Mill in Fall River, Massachusetts, built in 1847 and named for the chief, is the oldest remaining textile mill in the city.
* King Philip Stockade, a large park named after the chief, where the Pocumtuc Indians planned and began the Sack of Springfield, is now a part of Forest Park in Springfield
* King Philip Mills in Fall River, Massachusetts, built 1871
* The USS ''Metacomet'', an 1863 United States Navy ship
* The Metacomet Ridge, a mountain range in southern New England
* The Metacomet Trail in central Connecticut
* The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire
* Metacomet Country Club, a golf course in East Providence, Rhode Island
* The Metacomet parcel of conservation land within the Black Brook Management Area in Easton, Massachusetts
* King Phillip's Cave in Norton, Massachusetts, a cave said to have been used by the chief as a hiding place towards the end of his reignHistory: MGA Links at Mamantapett
''MGA Links'' (archived 2006)
* King Philip Mountain, a peak on Talcott Mountain, near Hartford, Connecticut
* King Philip's Hill, on the western bank of the Connecticut River in Northfield, Massachusetts
* King Phillip's Nose, a rock island in the Connecticut River, south of Northfield, Massachusetts
* King Philip's Rock, a historic site situated on a trail in Sharon, Massachusetts
* King Philip Avenue/Road/Street or Drive in East Providence and Bristol, Rhode Island; Fall River, Longmeadow, Raynham, Somerset, Worcester, and South Deerfield, Massachusetts; and in West Hartford, Connecticut

One insect species is named after Metacomet:
* '' Tipula metacomet'', a species of large crane fly with a type locality in Amherst, Massachusetts

See also

* Rev William Apess, claimed descent from Metacomet
* List of early settlers of Rhode Island
*'' Eulogy on King Phillip'' by William Apess, 1836

Footnotes

References

* Bourne, Russel (1990). ''The Red King's Rebellion''. .
* Philbrick, Nathaniel, ''Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War''. New York: Viking Penguin. .
*Tilton, Rev. George Henry. (1918) "A History of Rehoboth, Massachusetts: Its History for 275 Years, 1648–1918." Boston, MA: Published by the author.

External links

The Royal Gazette article: The struggle to honour Bermuda's Native American heritage.


* ttp://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~massasoit/causes.htm Rootsweb: Edward Randolph on the Causes of the King Philip's War (1685).
Rootsweb: St. David's (Bermuda) Indian Committee.




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King Philip's Biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metacomet
1638 births
1676 deaths
17th-century Native American leaders
People of King Philip's War
Native Americans connected with Plymouth Colony
Native American history of Massachusetts
Native American people from Rhode Island
People from colonial Rhode Island
Wampanoag people