| POLITICS
AND COEXISTENCE
The weakened group of colonists worked hard to build houses and gather food. While they occasionally saw Native People from a distance, it was not until March 1 of 1621 that one, Samoset, approached. "He came very boldly all alone... He saluted us in English and bade us Welcome! for he had learned some broken English among the Englishmen that came to fish at Monhegan [Maine]. "
Samoset brought local Wampanoag
people
to meet the colonists :
Soon after, Massasoit and his brother Quadequina,
the
leaders of the Pokanoket Wampanoag, came to Plymouth. The Pokanoket community of Wampanoag
lived west of Patuxet. The two groups approached each other cautiously, exchanging
hostages to ensure safety. After offering gifts and food, Governor Carver made an
agreement with the two. Click HERE for the text
of the Treaty with Massasoit.
Massasoit of the Pokanoket was one of several sachems
(leaders) among the local Native groups. Over the summer of 1621, tension among other
Native leaders led to expanding treaty relations with other Native communities from
Massachusetts Bay to Cape Cod and Marthas Vineyard. The Pilgrims saw the
alliance as an opportunity to ensure security for their fledgling settlement The Pokanoket
initiated the alliance because it released them from the dominance of the powerful
Narragansetts to their southwest.
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Updated 14 July, 1998