Tisquantum, or Squanto for short, was of the Pawtuxet band of Wampanoag, located at present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts. In 1615, he was kidnapped by Captain Thomas Hunt, an English trader, and taken to Spain and sold into slavery. But a sympathetic Englishman ransomed him and took him to England. In 1619, Squanto managed to be part of an ocean crossing under Captain Thomas Dermer, returning to his people.
The English Separatists known as the Pilgrims arrived in North America and founded Plymouth in December 1620. The following March 1621, Squanto used his knowledge of English to instruct them in the ways of the wilderness, particularly in planting corn and fishing. Squanto interpreted for and acted on
Behalf of Massasoit of the Pokanoket band and grand sachem of all the Wampanoag bands. Without the help of the Wampanoag, the Pilgrims probably would have perished during their first winter. It might be said that Squanto and Massasoit are the figures in history most responsible for the holiday of giving, the first such feast proclaimed in autumn 1621 by the Plymouth governor, William Bradford, after a successful harvest.
Squanto died in 1622 from “Indian fever,” or smallpox carried to the Indians by the settlers. Massasoit, who had signed an early peace treaty with the Pilgrims, remained an ally of the colonists for 40 years until his death in 1660. His friendship helped keep the Wampanoag neutral in the Pequot War of 1636—37 (see pequot). It also enabled the Pilgrims and other colonists to maintain their foothold in the New World.
Yet the colonists abused their friendship with the Indians time and again. They wanted land for farming and tried to trick the Indians into signing it away for little payment or no payment at all. one method they used was to get tribal representatives drunk before negotiating with them. Another was to bribe one Indian and make him an honorary chief, then have him sign away tribal lands.
World History
