Americans of the Region of the Wampanoag Tribe

Americans of the region of the Wampanoag tribe. Their leader, known as Metacom or Pometacom is referred to by the English as 'King Philip', hence the term. The armed conflict lasted from June 1675 to August 1676. Pometacom became 'sachem' - the paramount chief of the Wampanoag and related tribes including the Nipmuck, Podunk, Narragansett and the Nashaway. The colonists traded with the natives because they needed supplies, they preached to them and competed for resources with them, including the most important resource - fertile territory. Since colonialization, conflict had always been part of the tension but the treaty with former sachem Massasoit, Metacom's father allowed for 'peace' of over 50 years. But those years saw encroachment of colonial territories further inland, pushing back native populations and forcing them to give up former lands and territories to colonists. When Metacom took over from his brother Wamsutta, the treaty had no effect anymore as the native populace, it seemed, had enough. Pointed to was the heavy-handed treatment of the colonists of the American Indians, specifically Josiah Winslow, Governor of the Plymouth Colony who acquired land dubiously, using force and violent methods against the native populace to expand his influence as well as wealth, particularly against Wamsutta, whom Metacom succeeded John Sossamon, a native American who was converted to Christianity and educated in Harvard advised Winslow that Metacom was planning attacks against the colonies.

Soon, Sossamon was found murdered; 3 Wampanoag men, including one of Metacom's counsellors was arrested and subsequently hanged by the colonial jury. In retaliation, a band of Pokanoket warriors attacked Swansea and burned it to the ground. The colonists responded by attacking the Wampanoag town in Mt. Hope, burning it also to the ground. Metacom and his allies responded by banding together to retaliate. There were 110 'colonial towns/settlements' in New England and 64 of them were in Massachusetts 9 of these, including Boston were under seige, attacked and burned as either retaliation for the Colonial attacks that were undertaken against what was seen by colonial officials as 'Native American violence' or as an offensive act, a declaration of war by the Native populace against what they percieved as an enemy that was abusing, stealing and killing them without just cause. Successful Metacom led attacks were also undertaken in Andover, Bridgewater, Chelmsford, Groton, Lancaster, Marlborough, Medfield, Millis, Medford, Portland, Providence, Rehoboth, Scituate, Sikonk, Simsbury, Sudbury, Suffield, Warwick, Weymouth and Wrentham. The Native Indians, organized under Metacom and numbering to about 3,500 pushed colonists and farmers back into the larger towns and ports to seek protection. Gov. Josiah Winslow banded with Governors John Leverett of Massachusetts Bay Colony and John