Peace with the Pilgrims

The Pokanoket Massasoit Ousamequin saw that the new settlers were struggling, and decided to help them acclimate to the land. Following their first contact, the two groups negotiated a mutual defense agreement in 1621, and the relationship between them grew stronger. In the winter of 1636, the Massasoit Ousamequin welcomed Roger Williams to Pokanoket lands and granted permission for him to settle. However, as the English population continued to grow in Plymouth and Massachusetts Colonies, the Pokanoket and other Indigenous nations came under increasing pressure. When the Massasoit Ousamequin passed away in 1661, his son Wamsutta inherited the mantle of leadership but soon died, most likely as a result of being poisoned. Massasoit Ousamequin’s second son Metacom, known to the English as King Philip, inherited the headship of the Pokanoket nation in 1662, as the clouds of war and disease gathered.