Discover the History of Wampanoag People in the 17th Century with this Quiz

The World of the Wampanoag in 1620 and Beyond

The Plymouth Patuxet Museums in Massachusetts offer a new archaeology exhibit called "History in a New Light: Illuminating Archaeology of Historic Patuxet".
The exhibit displays artifacts from both the Wampanoag village of Patuxet and the site of the original 1620 European settlement.
Project 400 is an ongoing archaeological research initiative conducted in partnership with the Andrew Fisk Center for Archaeological Research at the University of Massachusetts Boston, the town of Plymouth, and the Plymouth Patuxet Museums.
The Wampanoag village of Patuxet was devastated by an epidemic between 1616-1619, which wiped out nearly 90% of their population.
The Mayflower arrived in Plymouth Harbor on December 16, 1620, carrying more than 100 passengers who intended to establish a permanent settlement in North America.
The English colonists chose to settle on the site of the Wampanoag village of Patuxet, which had been largely cleared of trees and had fertile soil, located near the ocean and sources of fresh water.
The English colonists arrived during a confusing and difficult time for the Wampanoag, who were still recovering from the epidemic.
The English colonists were part of a larger transatlantic movement of people in the early 17th century, seeking to claim territory and establish colonies.
The Leiden church members who migrated to North America were seeking a place to practice their version of Protestant Christianity, which was not welcomed in England.
The Leiden church members had intended to settle in the northern part of Virginia but arrived in Wampanoag country due to a late start and faulty navigation.
The English colonists struggled with their first winter in North America, with 45 of the 102 Mayflower passengers dying by March 1621.
The Wampanoag noticed the English colonists' arrival and their efforts to build new homes, a place of worship, and a protective palisade at Patuxet.The Treaty of 1621: How the Wampanoag and English Established a Trade Relationship
The English colonists arrived in the dawn lands in the winter of 1620, during a cold and harsh Little Ice Age winter, intending to build a settlement.
The Wampanoag observed the colonists from afar throughout the winter, having already interacted with Europeans for almost 100 years before the arrival of the Mayflower.
It wasn't until March 1621 that the Wampanoag made their first direct encounter with their new neighbors.
Squanto, a Wampanoag man who had been taken captive by English sailors in 1614 and returned to his home in Plymouth in 1619, became the colonists' chief guide and translator from March 1620 until his death in November or December of 1622.
In early 1621, Usamiquin, the principal leader of the Wampanoag people, orchestrated Wampanoag interactions with the English colonists to ascertain their intentions and activity.
Usamiquin sent Samuset, a non-Wampanoag man who could speak English and was considered to be a language chief, as an emissary to the colonists to make physical contact with them and convey that he came in peace.
When Samuset returned unharmed, Usamiquin sent Squanto to meet with the colonists to gain more information from them and negotiate an agreement that allowed them to be in the area and establish a trade relationship.
The treaty of 1621 protected the colonists from the Wampanoag's native neighbors and vice versa, but reflected the English colonists' view of English legal superiority and land as property that could be owned by individuals.
The treaty served to more closely unite the Wampanoag and English colonists by establishing a trade relationship.
The Wampanoag and English traded furs and peltry that the Europeans no longer had in Europe and foodstuffs that they needed to support their seasonal fishing villages or their return voyages across the Atlantic.
The treaty proved to be a difficult process as the two groups had to navigate different languages, cultural understandings about land law and governance, and conflicting views of the treaty's purpose.
The treaty opened the door to future conflicts about the rule of law and governance in Wampanoag country, leading to warfare in the late 1630s and again in the 1670s.Trade, Diplomacy, and Daily Life in Plymouth Colony and Wampanoag Society
The Library of America has published a volume of William Bradford's journal, "Of Plymouth Plantation," which includes documents providing insight into the experiences of the Wampanoag people and their leaders.
Feeding their families was a top priority for both the Wampanoag and English settlers in the 1620s, with tending gardens and preparing game or livestock for daily meals being a key and time-consuming task.
Every Plate is a meal kit service that does the meal planning, shopping, and prepping for you, with easy-to-use recipes and pre-portioned ingredients that come together in about 30 minutes.
Archaeological excavations in Plymouth, specifically Project 400, have revealed that the Wampanoag and English lived in very close proximity to one another, with a contemporary Wampanoag site located just outside the English palisade.
The Wampanoag shared critical agricultural knowledge with the English, including how to grow corn, beans, and squash together, but the English eventually abandoned this method in favor of planting one crop per row.
Trade took multiple forms at Patuxet, with the exchange of agricultural knowledge and physical objects being strategic for both the Wampanoag and English.
Objects found at the site include European ceramics, glass beads, metal kettles, animal bones, and shells, representing life for both the Wampanoag and English in the 1620s.
The English colonists worried about their ability to maintain their Englishness and prejudices about native peoples, while the Wampanoag saw peaceful relations with the colonists as only a small part of their larger plan for diplomacy with other native peoples.
The English colony at Plymouth constituted a very small population in the larger world of the Don Lands, where thousands of native peoples lived, some of whom the Wampanoag had peaceful relations with and some of whom they did not.
The Wampanoag continued to organize their society around seasonal, sustainable food supply, with large winter encampments where they had stored the food that they had grown and harvested or hunted and fished in earlier months.
The epidemic of 1616-1619 influenced how the Wampanoag approached diplomacy and the English colonists, with forging alliances with other native peoples being a top priority.
Squanto's actions to help the English colonists seemed to be part of his goal to be a general guide and emissary, with the idea that if the English were safe and strong, that would help other Wampanoag people and their allies be safe and strong.The World of the Wampanoag: Remembering the Mayflower Anniversary
The history of the Pilgrims' arrival at Plymouth in 1620 often omits the devastating impact of the epidemic on the Wampanoag people.
The English are often credited with bringing great change to the Wampanoag world, rather than the disease epidemic.
The larger world and longer history of the Wampanoag is often missing from historical accounts of the Pilgrims' arrival.
The term "Pilgrim" was assigned to the English settlers later and is part of the myth-making around them as a founding group in US history.
The focus of commemoration for the Mayflower anniversary has shifted towards the native legacy, rather than the settlers' experience.
Indigenous culture is not monolithic and has undergone changes influenced by climate, resources, politics, and social relationships.
The Wampanoag have been on their homeland for over 12,000 years, while the Pilgrims arrived in 1620.
The Pilgrims were different because they stayed and formed a colony, but they were just one boat and different from other people who arrived before and after them.
The Wampanoag are proud of their heritage and culture and are still here today, raising their children into their culture.
The Mayflower was a small part of a much larger world, the world of the Wampanoag.
The episode is part of a two-episode series about the world of the Wampanoag, co-written and co-produced by Liz Covert and Karen Wolfe and made possible with support from Mass Humanities.
The original music throughout the episode was composed by Joel Roston in collaboration with Wampanoag musician Durwid Vanderhoop.