Native Americans timeline
-
English Settlers Organize Rescue Party to Retreive John Billington from Nauset, Improving Relations with Native Americans
In late July, a boy by the name of John Billington became lost for some time in the woods around the colony. It was reported he was found by the... Read more
-
English Pilgrims Negotiate Exclusive Trading Pact with Massasoit
As promised by Massasoit, numerous Native Americans arrived at Plymouth throughout the middle of 1621 with pledges of peace. On July 2, a party of... Read more
-
The "First" Thanksgiving
The autumn celebration in late 1621 that has become known as "The First Thanksgiving" was not known as such to the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims did... Read more
-
A Second Ship, the Fortune, Arrives at the Plymouth Colony
In November 1621, one year after the Pilgrims first set foot in New England, a second ship sent by the Merchant Adventurers arrived. Named the... Read more
-
New Colonists Arrive at Plymouth Shortly before Establishing New Colony of Wessagusset
In May 1622, a vessel named the Sparrow arrived carrying seven men from the Merchant Adventurers whose purpose was to seek out a site for a new... Read more
-
Myles Standish Leads Small Band to Assassinate Native American Warriors at Wessagusset
The next day on April 6th there appeared at the gates of the stockade the leaders of the conspiracy. Pecksuot, a giant warrior and Wituwamat along... Read more
-
Two More Ships Arrive to Populate Plymouth Colony
In July 1623, two more ships arrived, carrying 90 new settlers, among them Leideners, including William Bradford's future wife, Alice. Some of the... Read more
-
John Stone is Killed by Western Niantic, in Retaliation for Atrocities he Committed Against Native Americans
In 1634, John Stone, a smuggler, privateer, and slaver, and seven of his crewmen were killed by the Western Niantic, tributary clients of the... Read more
-
Pequots Send Messenger Promising Tribute to Massachusetts Bay Colony Deputy Governor, Roger Ludlow
In 1634 the the Pequots initiated peace negotiations with the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They wanted the English to re-establish trade and arbitrate... Read more
-
Massachusetts Bay/Pequot Treaty is Negotiated, but Never Ratified by Pequot Council
Before the war's inception, efforts to control fur trade access resulted in a series of escalating incidents and attacks that increased tensions on... Read more
-
Pequots Attack Fort Saybrook
Through the fall and winter, Fort Saybrook was effectively besieged. Any who ventured outside were killed. As spring arrived in 1637, the Pequot... Read more
-
John Oldham and Several of His Crew are Killed by Narragansett-Allied Indians
On July 20, 1636, a respected trader named John Oldham was attacked on a trading voyage to Block Island. He and several of his crew were killed and... Read more
-
Captain John Endecott Leads Party to Block Island to Exact Revenge for John Oldham's Killing
News of Oldham's death became the subject of sermons in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In August, Governor Vane sent John Endecott to exact revenge... Read more
-
Wongunk Chief Sequin Attacks Wethersfield with Assistance from Pequot
Through the fall and winter, Fort Saybrook was effectively besieged. Any who ventured outside were killed. As spring arrived in 1637, the Pequot... Read more
-
The Mystic Massacre
Believing that the English had returned to Boston, Massachusetts, the Pequot sachem Sassacus took several hundred of his warriors to make another... Read more
-
Narragansetts Allied with Pilgrims Trick Pequots into Capture by Massachusetts Troops
The slaughter at Mystic broke the Pequot, and deprived them of their allies. Forced to abandon their villages, the Pequot fled -- mostly in small... Read more
-
Pilgrims Catch and Defeat Remaining Pequot, Although Some, Including Chief Sassacus, Escape
In mid-June, John Mason set out from Saybrook with 160 men and 40 Mohegan scouts under Uncas. They caught up with the refugees at Sasqua, a... Read more
-
Chief Sassacus and His Brother are Killed by Mohawks, Their Scalps Presented to Pilgrims as Peace Offerings
Sassacus and his followers had hoped to gain refuge among the Mohawk in present-day New York. However, the Mohawk had seen the display of English... Read more
-
Pequot War Ends with the Treaty of Hartford
The term Treaty of Hartford applies to three historic agreements negotiated at Hartford, Connecticut. The 1638 treaty divided the spoils of the... Read more
-
John Sassamon Tells Plymouth Colony Officials of King Philip's Arranging Attacks on Colonial Settlements
The spark that ignited King Phillip's War was a report from a Native American Christian convert ("Praying Indian")—an early Harvard graduate,... Read more
-
Mary Rowlandson is Captured by Wampanoag Indians During Raid on Lancaster Village
At sunrise, on February 10, 1675, during King Philip's War, Lancaster came under attack by Narragansett, Wampanoag, and Nashaway/Nipmuc Indians.... Read more
-
Mary Rowlandson is Freed from Wampanoag Indians
At sunrise, on February 10, 1675, during King Philip's War, Lancaster came under attack by Narragansett, Wampanoag, and Nashaway/Nipmuc Indians.... Read more
-
Three Wampanoag Indians are Hanged for the Murder of John Sassamon
On the testimony of a Native American witness, Plymouth Colony arrested three Wampanoags, including one of Metacom's councilors. A jury among whom... Read more
-
A Band of Pokanoket Indians Attacks Homesteads in Plymouth Colony Settlement of Swansea
Beginning in June 1675, the Wampanoag, outfitted with rifles and armor, attacked a series of settlements and took the lives of dozens of colonial... Read more
-
Settlers Send Military Expedition to Destroy Wampanoag Town at Mount Hope in Retaliation for Swansea Attacks
On the testimony of a Native American witness, Plymouth Colony arrested three Wampanoags, including one of Metacom's councilors. A jury among whom... Read more