Product Code Database
Wamsutta ( 16341662), known to the New England colonists as Alexander, was the eldest son of Massasoit (meaning Great Leader) Ousa Mequin of the Pokanoket Tribe within the Wampanoag people nation, and the brother of Metacomet (or Metacom).
Upon Massasoit's death, Wamsutta became the leader of the Pokanoket, overseeing tribes in territory covering parts of present-day Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Wamsutta, whom the English called Alexander, agreed to uphold the peace established by his father. Facing a decline in the fur trade, he sought to maintain the Pokanoket's influence by selling land to colonists. The English accused him of conspiring with the Narragansetts to stage an attack. In 1662, the Plymouth Colony Court summoned Wamsutta for unauthorized land negotiations and detained him. Following his interrogation, Wamsutta fell ill and died under uncertain circumstances.
The exact cause of his death remains uncertain, but his brother Metacomet, who succeeded him, believed he was poisoned. Wamsutta's death was among the factors that eventually led to King Philip's War in 1675. Historical accounts differ on the circumstances of his death. Some sources claim that Governor Josiah Winslow may have poisoned or tortured Wamsutta, perceiving him as a political threat. However, this theory is debated, as Edward Winslow and Governor William Bradford previously maintained peaceful relations with Massasoit.
Metacomet, known as King Philip to the colonists and officials at Plymouth, signed an agreement with the English in 1662, vowing not to provoke or initiate war with other native groups without cause, an agreement similar to those made by Wamsutta and his father. The colonists, in return, agreed to advise and aid Philip. However, the alliance was uneasy, and hostilities between natives and colonists continued to escalate.
Activist Frank James, who founded the National Day of Mourning protesting the myth of the First Thanksgiving in 1970, used Wamsutta as his native name."Frank James (Wamsutta, 1923–2001) National Day of Mourning," in Dawnland Voices: An Anthology of Indigenous Writing from New England edited by Siobhan Senior (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2014), 455–458.
https://vc.bridgew.edu/bmas/64/
|
|
