Pequot Indians And New England Colonists

Relations between the Natives and the European colonists in New England were ever changing due to the religious beliefs, conflicts between the Natives and settlers over the strategically built economy, and the expanding population of the colonies.

The first settlement in New England was the Plymouth colony settled by the Pilgrims in 1620. The first winter was difficult, but with the help of an Indian named Squanto, they were able to survive. Relations between these two groups were not as tension filled as the relations between the Spanish and the Natives because the New England settlers were only interested in taking their land rather than converting or enslaving them. Roger Williams, a Puritan theologian, believed the colonists did not

The colonists traded guns and metals for Indian furs and other things. Over the years, the settlers and the Indians stopped trading with one another for periods of time due to conflict. One example is Pequot War, which occurred in 1637 between New England colonists and the Pequot tribe. The Pequot Indians controlled a large part of the fur trade and when a New English fur trader was killed, the colonists set out to destroy the Pequots. When the dust settled, almost all of the Pequot tribe was decimated. Those who were not were sent to the Caribbean to become slaves. This stopped trade between the two groups for a short period of time. Another conflict arose in 1675 when Wampanoag were killed. The Wampanoag and their allies sought out to seek revenge. At the end of this conflict, almost half of New England town were attacked by the Native Americans. The colonist ended up winning and it became to be one deadliest wars in British North America in accordance of the population. Ultimately, strife over the economy caused both sides to lose something they had worked so hard to get, each otherś

People learned from loved ones just how great the American colonies were and started coming over by the thousands. The population in settled areas overflowed and colonists needed new places to put this excess population. Settlers started settling in the Indians land and that did not sit well with the Native population. The French did not enjoy how the English colonist were intruding on their land. During the late seventeenth century, the French colonies were able to acquire land across almost all of present-day Canada and the Mississippi River Valley. Over in Europe, France and Great Britain were also having conflict leading to a war involving both of their colonies. The majority of the Natives decided to ally themselves with the French because of the conflicts between the Indian tribes and the land that was promised the Natives if they assisted the French in winning. At the end of the war, the winners proved to be the English. The French lost some of their land to the English colonies while the English gained some status in the world economy for defeating their biggest competition. Out of everyone involved, the Native Americans lost the most. The lost land that had been theirs for generations and were left high and dry by the French. They now had to rebuild their relations with the English colonies in order to keep the remaining land they still possessed. Natives continued to try to