No "King Philip's War"

[Paul Spring]

King Philip's War (1675-76) was a major fight between the New England colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Connecticut, plus Native American allies, against a loose coalition of Native Americans who were outraged about continued English encroachment on their remaining lands and by attempts to force them to follow English law.

"King Philip" was the name that the English settlers gave to Metacom or Metacomet, the chief sachem of the Wampanoag tribe. Metacom's father, Massasoit, had established peaceful relations with the English settlers shortly after the first group arrived at Plymouth, and there had been peace between the English and Wampanoag for over 50 years. As time went on and the English increased in number and encroached more and more on Native American lands, tensions increased. The English claimed a sort of legal authority over the Indian nations as vassals. A number of Native leaders agreed to this under the mistaken impression that they were becoming allies of the English rather than vassals. Up until the 1675, there had been only one major conflict - the Pequod War in the late 1630s, when the powerful Pequod tribe had openly opposed the English, and had been crushed by a combined force of white colonists and anti-Pequod natives. For many years, native leaders like Massasoit generally preferred diplomacy and negotiation and working within the English legal system rather than risking everything in a war where they could lose everything. The example of what had happened to the Pequod - those who were not killed were mostly taken by the English and by other tribes as laves or indentured servants - was not soon forgotten. In addition, a series of epidemics, the earliest of which struck years before any English even settled - greatly reduced the numbers of the natives and had put them at a serious numerical disadvantage by the 1670s.

When Massasoit died, his older son Wamsutta (called "Alexander" by the English) became the leading sachem of the Wampanoag. He tried to continue his father's policies of coexistence. On his way back from a meeting with colonial leaders in Plymouth, he suddenly fell ill and died. Metacom took his place. As English encroachments increased, Metacom was pressured from all sides - some of the men in his tribe felt they had to go to war now to defend their lands, while others counselled peace. English Puritan missionaries asked for the right to preach the gospel, which Philip, a staunch native traditionalist, refused. Colonial authorities demanded that Philip turn over Wampanoag and other natives accused of crimes so that they could be tried in colonial courts.

In early 1675, the body of a man named John Sassamon was discovered frozen into the ice of a pond in the western part of Plymouth colony. Sassamon was a native who had converted to Christianity, and now served as a sort of secretary and liason between Philip and the English. It was said that Philip distrusted him as being too pro-English. After examining the body, colonial authorities concluded that Sassamon had been murdered. At this point, another Wampanoag came forward and claimed to have actually seen 3 other Wampanoag murder Sassamon. Although this man’s testimony was suspect (he was heavily in debt to one of the men he accused), Plymouth authorities seized the 3 Indians, tried them, convicted them, and executed them by hanging in the town of Plymouth.

The trial and execution of these men seems to have been the final trigger for the outbreak of hostilities. In June 1675, Wampanoag from Metacom’s own town, called “Mount Hope” by the English, began raiding farms in the nearby English settlement of Swansea. The first shots were fired by the English at a group of raiding Wampanoag, mortally wounding 1. The next day, a group of 7 armed English settlers were ambushed and killed.

Native American raids on English settlements quickly spread. In response, the colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Connecticut mobilized a large portion of their militia forces and sent envoys to other native groups to try and get promises of friendship and assistance. The militia forces attempted to trap Metacom and his followers, but most of them slipped out of the trap and moved north into the territory of the Nipmuc. Most of the Nipmuc were also angry about English encroachment, and even before Metacom arrived they had ambushed a militia force that had come to meet with their leaders and demand that they sign a new treaty of peace with the English. Before long, natives further west in the Connecticut river valley also turned against the English and began attacking settlements along the river.

At the same time that this was happening, some of the converted “praying Indians” deserted their English-supervised settlements and joined Metacom’s side. Some of the other praying Indians supported the English, however, in spite of the fact that the English deported several thousand of the Christianized natives to Deer Island in Boston harbor, where somewhere between 1000 and over 2000 died from disease and hunger over the winter. The English were also supported by the Mohegan tribe of central Connecticut, and by a minority of Wampanoag and Nipmuc.

The only major group of natives in the region who were still neutral were the Narragansett, who lived in western Rhode Island and eastern Connecticut. The colonial governments demanded that the openly declare their support for the English, and hand over some of their weapons. When the Narragansett refused, a large English force invaded their territory. After fierce fighting, the English forces stormed the Narragansett’s largest town and killed several hundred men, women, and children. There were still many Narragansett, however, and most of them now joined the forces of Metacom and his allies.

During the winter of 1675-76, the war seemed to be going badly for the English. In Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, town after town was repeatedly raided, with most of the houses and barns being burnt, fields and storehouses burnt, livestock killed or taken away, and the English settlers killed or fleeing to larger, more secure towns. Even Rhode Island, which was still officially neutral, suffered from the raids. English forces walked into several major ambushes and suffered heavily. On the other hand, things weren’t going so well for the Indians, either. They had a hard time getting enough food and supplies for their families while they were raiding and patrolling in time of war. Gunpowder and ammunition were often in short supply, although there were at least a few natives who knew how to make powder, and even to make and fix muskets. Metacom traveled west to the Hudson river valley to try and recruit more warriors to his cause, but instead he and his small band were attacked by a large force of Mohawk, who were friendly to the English at the time. Finally, the English were learning more about the “skulking way of war”, as they called it, from both their native allies and enemies.

Raids continued in the spring of 1676, but they began to diminish during the summer. The English promised amnesty to those Indians who surrendered, and many took the offer. Metacom and a few other leaders continued to lead die-hard bands, but now they had to elude large forces of militia combing the countryside for them, aided by Indian guides. One by one the leaders were killed, or captured, or surrendered themselves. Finally, Metacom himself was shot and killed by a fellow Wampanoag during a surprise attack on his camp. The last holdouts were captured or surrendered shortly thereafter.

For the natives, the war was the end of any effective self-government within the English colonies. Those who had participated in hostilities against the English and had not voluntarily surrendered were mostly executed or sold into slavery. This punishment usually included their families as well. Metacom’s body was cut into several pieces which were exhibited on pikes in Plymouth. His head stood on post near the center of Plymouth for over 20 years. Even those who had allied with the English often found part of their lands confiscated. Before the war, English courts were not always totally biased – an Indian might actually get a favorable ruling in a land dispute. Those days were over after the war. There would be little place for the natives in the future of New England.

The colonists had suffered heavy losses, too. Another long term effect that the war had was to draw the central government in London’s attention toward the New England colonies. This was definitely not the kind of thing that the colonies wanted. New England was mainly settled by Puritans, the kind of men who had supported Cromwell and were now anathema to the governments of Charles II and James II. London’s attention was too late to have any impact on the course of the war, but the war was a good excuse for the government to try and tighten its control. This reached a climax a few years later when James II appointed abolished all of the old colonial legislatures and appointed Sir Edmund Andros to head the new “Dominion of New England” as a governor with extensive powers. Fortunately for the New Englanders, James II was deposed in the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688, and when news of this reached New England, Andros was deposed and sent back to England as a prisoner. Still, the new government of King William and Queen Mary insisted on having an appointed royal governor to keep a check on the legislature. In fact, the New England colonies did not regain the level of self-government that they had had before “King Philip’s War” until 100 years later, with the start of the American Revolution.


What if this war had never happened? Could the natives have continued to live in semi-independent enclaves within the English colonies if the war had not given the English an excuse to take their remaining lands. Could they have gradually assimilated into colonial New England society while keeping some of their native traditions? Was a war like this almost inevitable, or was it avoidable? Some historians have argued that the “total victory” policy pursued by the English after the war helped influence future colonial and US policies toward the Indians – force them off all of the good land, give them the least desirable parts, and try to force them to live like a poorer version of white society. Could the absence of this war possibly lead to a less hostile, uncompromising attitude in the future? How far would the repercussions go?

Without the war, would the New England colonies have continued along their path of effective self-government with little reference to what the government in London was doing? What effect might this have on the future of the British colonies in North America? Would there ever be a USA as we know it?

[Straha]

we could eventually see an english/native hybrid culture eventually.

[Alayta]

I am afraid, there was no other possibility than a war like this.
The Europeans continued to increase their numbers, and obviosly they did not pay much respect to the natives.
I would like to see a hybrid culture, but there was not enough time to close the immense gap between the two cultures.
Thank you very much for telling the story of the Pequod. In "Moby Dick" Melville tells that the name of the Ship derives from some indian tribe-now I know what tribe.

[Melvin Loh]

Yeah, I'm inclined to agree that Metacom's War or a white-Indian conflict of that magnitude in NE was pretty much inevitable, given the cont'd English land encroachment into Indian territory, economic domination of all aspects of Indian life, and expansion of English legal sovereignty and Christian missionary influence over native Americans, which were all deeply resented by Metacom and a large majority of Wampanoag and other tribes who became hostile. All of this would've had to bubble over sooner or later, and the Indian cause wasn't helped by many Indians whom the colonists had initially assumed to be friendly, such as the Nipmucks (who attacked and tried to burn down Mendon, Massachusetts) and many Praying Indians, actually went over to Metacom's cause.

BTW, what about the Powhatan Wars in Virginia ? Weren't the 1610, 1622, 1644 and 1675-76 English campaigns against the Powhatan Confederacy and other Indians also the benchmark for future US policy towards native Americans ?

[DuQuense]

When Massasoit died, his older son Wamsutta (called "Alexander" by the English) became the leading sachem of the Wampanoag. He tried to continue his father's policies of coexistence. On his way back from a meeting with colonial leaders in Plymouth, he suddenly fell ill and died. Metacom took his place. As English encroachments increased, Metacom was pressured from all sides - some of the men in his tribe felt they had to go to war now to defend their lands, while others counselled peace.

but the war was a good excuse for the government to try and tighten its control. This reached a climax a few years later when James II appointed abolished all of the old colonial legislatures and appointed Sir Edmund Andros to head the new “Dominion of New England” as a governor with extensive powers. Fortunately for the New Englanders, James II was deposed in the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688, and when news of this reached New England, Andros was deposed and sent back to England as a prisoner. Still, the new government of King William and Queen Mary insisted on having an appointed royal governor to keep a check on the legislature. In fact, the New England colonies did not regain the level of self-government that they had had before “King Philip’s War” until 100 years later, with the start of the American Revolution.

, his older son Wamsutta (called "Alexander" by the English) became the leading sachem of the Wampanoag. He tried to continue his father's policies of coexistence. On his way back from a meeting with colonial leaders in Plymouth, he suddenly fell ill and died.
POD Alex doesn't die. The war is postponed till after the Glorious Revolution, With more time the english are stronger, the Indians a little more assimulated. The war is shorter, with less intrest from England. The ARW breaks out in 1720, with that Virginia problem.