Embedded Files
Source: Metacom or King Philip, leader of the Wampanoags near Plymouth colony, led many other Indians into a widespread revolt against the colonists of southern New England in 1675. The conflict had been brewing for some time over a set of longstanding grievances between Europeans and Indians. In that tense atmosphere, John Easton, Attorney General of the Rhode Island colony, met Philip in June of 1675 in an effort to negotiate a settlement. Easton recorded Philip’s complaints, including the steady loss of Wampanoag land to the Europeans; the English colonists’ growing herds of cattle and their destruction of Indian crops; and the unequal justice Indians received in the English courts. This meeting between Easton and Metacom proved futile, however, and the war (which became the bloodiest in U.S. history relative to the size of the population) began late that month.
In the winter in the year 1674 an Indian was found dead, and by a coroner [from] Plymouth Colony judged murdered. He was found dead in a hole through ice broken in a pond [Assawompset Pond in present-day Massachusetts] with his gun and some fowl by him…. The dead Indian was called [John] Sassamon and [he was] a Christian [who] could read and write [and who had informed Plymouth Colony officials of King Philip’s plans to attack the English]…. So Philip [Metacom] kept his men in arms. Plymouth Governor [Josiah Winslow] required him to disband his men, and informed him his jealousy was false. Philip answered he would do no harm…. It was reported Sassamon before his death had informed of the Indian plot and that if the Indians knew it they would kill him, and that the heathen might destroy the English for their wickedness as God had permitted the heathen to destroy the Israelites of old, so the English were afraid and Philip was afraid and both increased in arms.
But for 40 years time reports and jealousy of war had been very frequent that we did not think that now a war was breaking forth, but about a week before it did we had case to think it would. Then to endeavor to prevent it, we sent a man to Philip that if he would come to the ferry we would come over to speak with him…. He called his council and agreed to come to us…. We told him our business was to endeavor that they might not receive or do wrong. They said that was well [because] they had done no wrong [and] the English [had] wronged them…. They said all English agreed against them, and so by arbitration they had had much wrong, many miles square of land so taken from them for English would have English arbitrators … and now they had not so much land or money….
We knew what their complaints would be, and in our colony [Rhode Island] had removed some of them in sending for Indian rulers [to be part of the jury to try three Pokanoket, or Wampanoag, Indians for Sassamon’s murder] in what the crime concerned Indian lives which they very lovingly accepted and agreed with us to their execution [in June 1675]…. [But] they had a great fear to have any of their Indians should be called and forced to be Christian Indians. They said they had been the first in doing good to the English, and the English the first in doing wrong, said when the English first came their king’s father [Massasoit, Philip’s father who had worked for peace for forty years in Plymouth Colony] was a great man and the English [were] as a little child. He [Massasoit] showed them how to plant and was free to do them any good and had let them have a 100 times more land than now the King [Philip] had for his own people….
Another grievance was if 20 of their honest Indians testified that an Englishman had done them wrong, it was nothing, and if but one of their worst Indians testified against an Indian or their king when it pleased the English that was sufficient. Another grievance was when their kings sold land the English would say it was more than they agreed to …
"Philip, King of Mount Hope", from the Church's The Entertaining History of King Philip's War, line engraving, colored by hand, by the American engraver and silversmith Paul Revere.
and some of their kings had done wrong to sell so much [that they] left [their] people none and some being given to drunkenness the English made them drunk and then cheated them in bargains…. Another grievance [was that] the English cattle and horses still increased that when they removed 30 miles from where English had anything to do, they could not keep their corn from being spoiled, they never being used to fence, and thought when the English bought land of them that they would have kept their cattle upon their own land. Another grievance [was that] the English were so eager to sell Indians liquors that most of the Indians spent all in drunkenness and then [attacked] upon the sober Indians … and their kings could not prevent it. We knew before these were their grand complaints, but then we only endeavored to persuade that all complaints might be righted without war.
Source: John Easton, “A Relation of the Indian War” in A Narrative of the Causes Which Led to Philip’s Indian War (Albany: J. Munsell, 1858), 5–15.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse