King Philip’s War

Despite decades of relative peace between Indians and colonists, tensions escalated during the 1660s. Metacom, whom colonists called King Philip, became grand sachem (primary chief) of the Wampanoag Confederacy in 1662, when New England Indians had lost both land and population. Especially troubled by English encroachments on native lands, King Philip forged an alliance that brought together two-thirds of the region’s Indian population, including the Narragansett. This New England Confederation coordinated attacks on white settlements, burning fields, taking captives, and killing male colonists.

In 1675 Indian attacks on New England towns escalated. The English, in turn, sold Indians into slavery (Document 2.5). As relations between settlers and Indians deteriorated, the Rhode Island colony sent representatives to meet with King Philip in June. Some colonists and Indian leaders also met independently to discuss the growing conflict (Documents 2.6 and 2.7). However, these diplomatic efforts failed, and Indian attacks increased throughout the summer. In September, the New England Confederation declared war. Fighting continued for a year, leading to the deaths of 1,000 colonists and more than 4,000 Indians. Edward Randolph, a customs agent, criticized both colonists and Indians for their parts in the conflict (Document 2.8). The English, who had forged alliances with the surviving Pequot and powerful Mohawk nations, finally gained the upper hand in August 1676. Then soldiers led by Captain Benjamin Church ambushed King Philip near Bristol, Rhode Island. Philip was shot and killed by John Alderman, an Indian ally of the colonists, which signaled the end of the war. Six years later, Mary Rowlandson, who had been captured in 1675, published an account of her captivity, which was widely read by New Englanders (Document 2.9).

Because there are fewer Indian sources, historians have struggled to develop a balanced picture of the war. William Nahaton (Document 2.5) learned firsthand that the English would go to great lengths to devastate Indian communities, Christian or otherwise. Some other documents also provide information about Indian perceptions of the war even though written by the English.