![]() ![]() So he taught them how to cultivate crops that would help them get through the next brutal winter. Squanto worked hard to prove his value to the Pilgrims as not only a vital communicator but also an expert on resources. Samoset made conversation with the Pilgrims for a while before explaining there was another man “whose name was Squanto, a native of this place, who had been in England and could speak better English than himself.”įlickr Commons With the help of Squanto, the Wampanoag and Pilgrims negotiated a fairly stable peace. These Europeans had suffered grievously in the winter, but the Wampanoag were still hesitant to approach them, especially since Natives who attempted to befriend the English in the past had been taken captive instead.Įventually, however, as Pilgrim William Bradford records, a Wampanoag named Samoset “came boldly amongst and spoke to them in broken English, which they could well understand but marveled at it.” In early 1621, Squanto found himself still a prisoner of the Wampanoag, who cautiously observed a group of recent English arrivals. Meanwhile, Squanto was taken captive by the tribe - and he was longing for his freedom yet again. Then, in 1620, Dermer and his crew were attacked by the Wampanoag tribe near modern Martha’s Vineyard. ![]() Mayflower Pilgrim William Bradford, who got to know Squanto very well years later, wrote: “he got away for England, and was entertained by a merchant in London, employed to Newfoundland and other parts.”įlickr Commons A statue of Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoag, in Plymouth. And once he was free in England, he began to master the language. By some accounts, Catholic friars may have been the ones to help Squanto out of captivity. However, Squanto somehow managed to escape to England. Squanto and the other prisoners were likely sold by Hunt as slaves in Spain. The Englishmen and their prisoners were long gone, and the remaining people of the village would soon be wiped out by disease. The Patuxet people were outraged by the kidnappings, but there was nothing they could do. ![]() They’re very content with that - even to the point where no one really questioned how is it that Squanto knew how to speak perfect English when they came.” “This is history that’s just been overlooked because people have become very, very comfortable with the story of happy Pilgrims and friendly Indians. “This is not revisionist history,” said Wampanoag expert Paula Peters in an interview with Huffington Post. Instead, the Natives were held captive aboard. The most widely-accepted theory is that Squanto and 23 other Native Americans boarded the ship of Captain Thomas Hunt, who put them at ease with promises of trade before setting sail. Wikimedia Commons A French 1612 depiction of the New England “savages.”Īt some point during his youth, Squanto was captured by English explorers and taken to Europe, where he was sold into slavery. ![]()
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