Pequot War

There was a time in history that people from the then civilized world were on a quest to discover new worlds. The people from the civilized countries labeled the indigenous as savages. If these savages did not extend a hand of friendship, these New Settlers would become determined to wipe off the opposition by hook or crook. The way of the New Settlers was; 'our way and no other way.' Similarly, the Native Americans settled near the Connecticut River Valley found it difficult to share their land with the English of Massachusetts and Rhode Island and the Dutch of New Amsterdam and Hudson River. This gave rise to the Pequot war fought between these New Settlers and the Pequot people.

Summary

The Pequot Tribe was an Indian tribe had settled at the southeastern Connecticut from the Nehantic River and to the east border of Rhode Island. It has been found by anthroplogists that the Pequot and Mohegan were originally a single tribe that had migrated to eastern Connecticut from upper Hudson River valley in New York around 1500.

When both the tribes were included, it was estimated that about 6000 people existed in the tribe in 1620. A major smallpox epidemic in 1633 - 34 and the separation of the Mohegans brought the population of the Pequot to about 3000.

The name of the Pequot tribe was from an Algonquin word, "pekawatawog or pequttoog" that meant 'destroyers'. They were also called by other names like Pekoath, Pequant, Pequatoo and Sickenames (Dutch), Pequod, Pequin (Sequin), Pyquan, Sagimo. They spoke the Y-dialect that was also spoken by the Mohegan, Narragansett, Niantic, and the Montauk and Shinnecock who were from Metoac that was on the eastern end of Long Island.

The Pequot were not happy to share their land with the European settlers. They worked aggressively to control their land in all directions. The control of fur trade lead to a series of tension between the Pequot and the New Settlers. The Mohican gave their alliance to the English after their split from the Pequot tribe.

The Beginning of the End
The Connecticut river and the land around it was viewed as their territory by the Pequot. They had an agreement with the Dutch that included a promise that they will not interfere with the trade on the river. However, the western Niantics or Pequots took over a boat from a white man and sailed it up the harbor. During this time, another white man John Gallup sailed by the river and fired on the Indians. He rammed his boat into theirs that made many Indians jump out and some were taken as captives.

The news of this encounter spread and the Governor Vane of Massachusetts sent 90 men to teach the Pequots a lesson. But, these white men attacked the Narragansett Indians by mistake. They killed all the people they could find. This made the Pequot tribe more powerful as they were joined by the angered Narragansett Indians to drive out the white man. This alliance did not last long as Roger Williams, who founded Rhode Islands, managed to persuade the Narragansett from taking such a step. Thus, the Pequot were left alone in their fight against the white man.

The Pequot then attacked families in isolated areas and slaughtered them. They waited to see the reaction from the English. But they saw no retaliation whatsoever. However, the New Settlers were panicking and they called Massachusetts for help. They sent over Captain John Mason to get rid of the Pequot uprising. Mason was a hardened soldier who headed a force of 80 white men and roped in over a hundred Mohicans at Saybrook Fort. He even managed to get the Narragansett to join him and fight the Pequot.

They rowed down the Narragansett Bay and soon found the stockade of twelve-foot posts that surrounded the Pequot tipis. These tipis were laid over an acre of land in what is now known as Groton, Connecticut. Jason and his men split into two groups and surrounded the Pequot tribe. The men arrived undiscovered and as luck would have it, the warriors who defended the tribe were absent. The Pequot people were relaxed by their false belief that the English had retreated to the east.

In the dead of the night, when the people who consisted of women, children and old were sleeping, Mason and his men attacked the tribe. They were shot at by Mason and his men and some butchered by the Narragansett and Mohicans. Soon, some of the members assembled to fight the attack, Mason saw defeat. However, he began to burn the teepees and this led to panic among the tribe. Those not burned by the fire were slaughtered by the men. Most of the dead were women and children. Over 700 to 1000 Pequot people were killed that night.

Soon, Mason made a hasty retreat to the boats. During his rush to the boats, he came face to face with a strong war party of 300 men of Pequot. But, these men were soon distracted by the smoke and burning village. Mason suffered a loss of only two killed and 20 injured and escaped. His native allies were however not so fortunate and could not find their way back home.

The Aftermath
The Pequots were broken after the loss of life and land. They could not cultivate crops and had no help from their native allies. This made the left over tribe to break into small bands and flee for their lives. This made them an easy prey and many of the people especially the women and children were taken as slaves.

The English were not satisfied with their win over the Mystic river and wanted Sassacus, the Pequot grand sachem. At the end of June, Mason was joined by Thomas Staughton who came with 120 men and went on to capture Sassacus. Mason, Staughton, and the Mohegan followed a slow-moving band of Saasacus west. If any Pequot captured en route offered any resistance, his head would be smashed and placed on a tree as a warning at a place, today known as Sachem Head.

Finally, they managed to catch up with Sassacus at Sasqua, a Pequannock village near Fairfeild, Connecticut. The Pequot retreated to a hidden fort and after negotiations, 200 Pequannock men, women and children were allowed to leave. The Pequot refused to surrender and Sassacus along with 80 warriors managed to break free. However, 180 were captured and others killed.

Sassacus and his men fled to west New York and had to turn to their old enemies for help. The Mohawk had not forgotten the past and the minute the Pequot reached their village, they were attacked before even being allowed to speak. The Mohawk cut off Sassacus's head and sent it to Hartford as a gesture of friendship with the English. The remaining Pequots turned to the Mahican at Schaghticoke. However, they were soon hunted down as they had no refuge. The General Court in Hartford had imposed a heavy fine to all those providing refuge to the Pequot. Most of them were killed and the remaining sachems surrendered.

In 1637, only about half of the 3000 Pequots survived the war. The Pequot were dismembered under the peace signed in Hartford in September, 1638. Those 180 captured were distributed as slave. 80 went to the Mohegan, 80 to the Narragansett and 20 to the Eastern Niantic. Of the other 80 captured by the English, 30 were executed and the women and children sent as slaves to Bermuda and West Indies. Others were made 'servant' to the New England households till their death. The remaining 1000 Pequot were added to the Mohegan tribe. This made them the most powerful tribe and they were able to defeat the Narragansett in 1644.

The Aftermath of the Aftermath
The Pequots lived a harsh life under the Mohgans. They had been separated into small groups and were not allowed to call themselves as the Pequot. The English demanded an annual payment of wampum from the Pequots for sparing their lives. This made them a burden over the Mohegan and were made to work like dogs. In 1655, their state was so bad that the English who never interfered were forced to move them to eastern Connecticut. Here they became the Mashantucket or western Pequot and lived at the reserve at Ledyard (1666). The eastern Pequot or Pawcatuck lived at the reservation at Lantern Hill (1683). This separation was a boon for the tribe, but they were obliged to help the Mohegan during times of war. They helped the Mohegan capture the Narragansett sachem Canonchet during the King Philip's War in 1675 - 76.

Facts

The war began in the 1630s with the colonization of English and Dutch over the Pequot territory of Connecticut valley. It led to many tensions between the groups and finally a war that destroyed the tribe. The war ended in 1638 with the Treaty of Hartford. Many Pequots moved away from their confines and by 1910, only 66 of them remained. It is said that currently their population is about 1000 Pequot. In. 1856, Connecticut sold off their 600 acres of reservation land without permission. They filed a lawsuit against this deal and were given US$ 700,000 as settlement. They received Federal recognition in 1983 and they opened a highly successful gambling casino in 1992. This has made the tribe the wealthiest group of the Native American in United States.

With a struggle of over 350 years, the Pequot have managed to remain the strongest tribe by becoming the wealthiest of all Native American groups. This was all about the Pequot war.