King Philip

King Philip’s War was a disturbing war fought in America in 1675, almost certainly as a result of the early contact between the English Colonists and the Native Americans. The Natives were, and had always been fighting for their freedom and land, as well as their culture unharmed. Though the Natives had their own religious beliefs, the Colonists felt that they were the greater man, and that God would play a part by remaining on their side. The Natives did not trust the English with their multiple cheated promises and such, and it was only expected that the Natives would not believe in the English. There is no one established reason for this war, like many wars, but it is only probable that it be a result of the many differences between the Native way of life, and the English way.

The Wampanoag Indians were a tribe that settled in the area of current day Rhode Island and Massachusetts. It is estimated that the number of tribe members was somewhere over ten thousand before the English arrived and brought along sickness and disease that the Natives were not accustomed to. By around 1675 it is imagined that the Wampanoag population plummeted to around only one thousand members. At first, the Wampanoag were accepting of the English because there appeared to be no immediate threat of endangerment of the Natives. The Natives actually became appreciative and dependent on the English in a sense, because they had been introduced to the various types of food, clothing, and most importantly, weapons. Massasoit, the Chief of the Wampanoag Indians at the time, signed a treaty of peace with the English that promised not to give up their land to anybody without the knowledge and consent of the Plymouth government first.

It wasn’t until 1630 when the situation reversed with the increasing amount of settlers moving to The Massachusetts Bay Colony known as “The Great Migration”, that the Natives became angered. The new settlers, the Puritans, were in desperate need of land and would do anything to get it. They wiped the Pequoit Indians out in the Pequoit War of 1637, and other than those who chose to convert to the Puritan religion and way of life, the Pequoit had vanished. Many of the Indian tribes were in trouble with the threat of loss of land, as well as loss of lives. It was time to strike back and defend what was theirs.

After Massasoit had passed on, Alexander would be the next Satchem (Chief) of the Wampanoag tribe. Alexander was Metacomet’s brother, as was Massasoit his father. Alexander died shortly after his reign from what is believed to have been an ill fever of some type. At this time, Metacomet, King Philip, would become the Grand Sachem of the Wampanoags. Philip was the predecessor of Tecumseh and was an excellent leader of the tribe. He knew that the English would try and rid them of their land and expand more until they wiped out his tribe totally. King Philip would need to get other tribes to understand what the English were doing, and to join him in the defense of their being. It wasn’t long until the English learned of this attempt at a possible revolt against them, and therefore in 1671, King Philip was forced to a southern area in Massachusetts known as Taunton. He was ordered to give up most of the firearms that the tribe possessed, but still kept a number of firearms within the Indians. Further, he signed an agreement with the Colony of Plymouth on September 29, 1671 that said his tribe would abide by colonial laws and guidelines with war affairs and Indian land. This was just another one of the Englishmen’s ways of stripping the Wampanoag’s of their power, but was probably only indeed signed by King Philip because he was under strict enforcement, and it would give him a little breathing room with the English.

Not forgetting about the tribes that King Philip attempted to have join them in their revolt against the English, the Naragansett, Nipmuc, and Pocumtuc tribes all gave their support to Philip and whatever he chose to do. Along the way, there were many obstructions and such that made this preparation of an attack long and hard. When King Philip heard of a rumor that the English were actually planning to apprehend him, he called for a meeting of tribesmen. The Nipmuc, Pocumtuc, some Pennacook, and some Abenaki all joined King Philip in their plot for revenge. The Narragansett’s unfortunately signed a treat with the English and refused to join the other tribes. In June of 1675, an English settler killed a Wampanoag Indian over an argument about the ownership of cattle. The Wampanoag would retaliate by killing eight other settlers to bring the start of King Philip’s War.

Several local militia groups would comprise the New England settlers in the beginning of King Philip’s War. Some of the settlers had fought in English Civil Wars, but the training received in England proved nothing compared to the style of war necessary