King Philip’s War

Presentation created by Robert MartinezPrimary Content Source: A History of US – Making Thirteen Colonies by Joy HakimImages as cited.

Massasoit was a friend of the

English colonists. The

first New England settlers might not have

survived without his help, and they knew it.

people.tribe.net

Massasoit’s people, the Wampanoags, were hunters and fishermen and farmers whose lives turned with the cycle of the seasons. They were peaceful people and

good neighbors.

people.ucls.uchicago.edu

A year after the Pilgrims arrived, Massasoit signed a treaty of peace with them. For more than 50 years, while he

lived, there was peace in Massachusetts.

www.allposters.com

But, even before Massasoit died, there were some – Indians and English – who saw trouble

ahead. Mostly, it was because there were so many English men and women. At first there had been only a few of these newcomers, but

soon they were pushing the natives off the land.

biblescripture.net 

Massasoit’s two sons were troubled. Their generation was different from that of their father.

They were not awed by the English, as their father sometimes seemed. The two boys were Wamsutta (Alexander) and Metacom (Philip).

www.loc.gov

When his father died. Wamsutta-

Alexander became ruler. Some

Englishmen feared him. They sent

troops, dragged him to Plymouth, threatened him,

and acted haughty and superior.

pokanoket.us

Alexander became ill and died on his way

home. Metacom-Philip was now

leader of his people. He believed the

English had killed his brother, and he

wanted revenge.

nemasket.blogspot.com

Besides, Metacom saw that the new people were destroying his land. And

so Metacom began visiting other Indian

leaders trying to convince them to join

him to fight the English and drive them from

America. That was not easy. There was no

history of Indian unity.

mrhousch.com

Metacom wasn’t ready when war began. As with many wars, it was really an

accident that started things. A Christian Indian named John Sassamon was killed. Sassamon had been to Harvard and was

a friend of the Plymouth colonists.

www.msrgc.com

Today, no one is sure who killed

him, but the English executed three members of Metacom’s tribe for the murder. Metacom was

furious. He attacked for

revenge.kids.britannica.com

King Philip’s War had begun. It was fought, off and on, for two years, 1675 and 1676, and it

was horrible. Both sides were incredibly brutal.

www.heritage-history.com

Six hundred colonists lost their lives in King Philip’s War; 3,0000 Indians lost theirs. Fifty of ninety English villages

were attacked, many were burned to the ground.

apushistorycase.wikispaces.com 

The peaceful Narraganset Indians, who had nothing to do with the war, were massacred on their own land in Rhode Island because some

of the settlers now feared all Indians. Many innocent white people were killed in Indian

raids of revenge.

www.legendsofamerica.com

Indian disunity hurt their cause. Some tribes helped the English. In addition, Indian warriors weren’t used to long wars. They knew how to

attack and destroy in quick raids. When the war went on and on, many Indians got tired of it.

www.sussexvt.k12.de.us 

They wanted to plant their crops and get back to normal activities. They deserted their leader.

Finally Metacom was trapped in a swamp, where he was killed by an Indian who was loyal

to the colonists.

www.gutenberg.org

Metacom’s head was chopped off and hung on the fort at Plymouth – there it stayed

for 25 years.

www.u-s-history.com

His wife, children, and other captured Indians were sold in the West Indies as

slaves. It was a pattern that was repeated over and over again until the

Indians could fight no more.

www.erroluys.com