Thanksgiving and Squanto Happy Thanksgiving

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Hi I will write an update about me etc today or tomorrow. Did you know about Squanto and Thanksgiving?Squanto and thanksgiving

Tisquantum, more commonly known today as Squanto,

or 'Big Bean' (c. 1580s – November 1622) was a Patuxet

Native American Indian who is best known

for assisting the Pilgrims after their first winter in the New World.

Tisquantum's assistance to the Europeans is remarkable because he was thrice

kidnapped and enslaved in Europe before returning to America to find that his entire

tribe had been wiped out by a plague brought by the European explorers. Today

he is remembered in American folklore regarding his role in the first Thanksgiving. USA

Early life Tisquantum was born

sometime in the 1580s in the area near present-day Plymouth , Massachusetts .

He was a member of the Patuxet tribe, part of the Wampanoag confederation of

tribes,[1]

and part of the Northeastern Woodland cultural

group of Native Americans, and part of the Algonquin language group of Native

Americans. His early life was likely

characterized by the fishing, game hunting, subsistence farming, growing mushrooms,

and wild food gathering practices typical to that time and place. The

familiarity with these practices that he displayed when assisting the Pilgrims

later in his life attests to this. Third

return to America In 1619, Tisquantum

traveled to the New England coast once again

with Captain Dermer on another mapping expedition. Upon returning home to the

site of his Patuxet village, he found that all of the inhabitants had died of a

plague (presumably smallpox, brought by the previous British encounter), making

him the only member of his tribe left alive. Tisquantum went to live in the Wampanoag

village Pokanoket, led by Chief Massasoit.[5]

Assisting

the Pilgrims Less than a year later, in

1620, the British Pilgrims, who had been aiming for Virginia ,

arrived on the Massachusetts coast and

unknowingly decided to settle where Tisquantum had grown up, at the location of

his deceased Patuxet tribe, modern-day Plymouth.. Before the Pilgrims had chosen a

suitable site for their settlement, it was late in December, so they were not

able to plant any crops to sustain them through the winter. More than half of

them died before spring arrived. Samoset, a traveling native

man from present-day Maine with some familiarity of English from the British fishermen frequenting his

coast,[6]

visited them on March 16. On March 22, he returned with Tisquantum, who spoke

English better than Samoset because of his extensive time in England . [7]

Squanto, as he was called

by the Pilgrims (who could not pronounce his full name), stayed with the Pilgrims

from March 1621 to November 1622, assisting them in many ways. Bradford

wrote later that Squanto was a "special instrument sent by God for their

good beyond their expectations." He helped them recover from their first

difficult winter by teaching them the best places to catch fish and eel. He helped them to

build warmer houses. Squanto also advised the Pilgrims in their relations with

the Narragansetts. He acted as an interpreter, and guided them on trading

expeditions Corruption Realizing that the other

Indians of the area feared the English settlers (especially their guns and

disease), Tisquantum began extorting his native neighbors, asking for tributes

to help gain English favor and threatening plagues on those he disliked. At one

point he attempted to trick the Pilgrims into a show of military action by

claiming an Indian conspiracy against them, but was found to be lying. Upon learning of

Tisquantum's extortion and deceit, Massasoit, the sachem of the tribe that had

adopted Tisquantum, ordered the Pilgrims to turn him over to him for execution.

The Pilgrims were hesitant to give up such a valuable source of local

information, but by the very peace treaty that Tisquantum himself had drafted

they were obliged to turn him over, and so were prepared to do so. Luckily for

Tisquantum, the British ship Fortune appeared on the horizon, delaying

the exchange. Massasoit did not end up pursuing his punishment In 1622, in

present-day Chatham, Massachusetts, while on a trading

expedition between the Pilgrims and the Cape Cod native people, Tisquantum became ill with "Indian Fever," began to

bleed from the nose, and died. He is buried in an unmarked grave on Burial Hill

in Chatham , Massachusetts , overlooking Ryder's Cove.

Peace between the two groups lasted for another fifty years History of

the PilgrimsAlthough

many English colonies had frequent problems with the Indians, the Wampanoag

people maintained peaceable relations for many years. In 1637, the

English fought with the Pequot in Connecticut ,

and in the 1640s there were continual disputes with the Narragansett.

When Massasoit died about 1656, leadership of the Wampanoag went to his son

Mooanam, later called Wamsutta, and nicknamed by the English

"". When Wamsutta died unexpectedly in 1662 after

returning from a visit to Plymouth ,

suspicions were aroused: many Wampanoag felt he had been poisoned.

Leadership of the Wampanoag then fell to Wamsutta's son Metacomet, nicknamed

"Philip" by the English. Although Philip tried to maintain

peaceful relations with Plymouth ,

the continued encroachment of English power over his people soon reached the

breaking point. In January 1674, the

Plymouth Colony arrested three Wampanoag, Tobias, Wampapaquan, and

Mattashanamo, for the murder of a Christianized and English-educated Wampanoag

Sassamon, "by laying violent hands on him and striking him, or

twisting his necke, untill hee was dead." Tobias, one of the accused

murderers, served Philip in what was essentially a "Secretary of

State" role. The Wampanoag viewed the killing of an Indian by other

Indians was an internal Wampanoag matter outside of English jurisdiction.

Plymouth felt

that because Sassamon had been Christianized, they had jurisdiction in the

matter. The Plymouth Colony realized the trial could be very explosive,

but felt that justice needed to be served. To make the trial

"fair", they appointed six Indians to the regular jury of Englishmen

hearing the case. All six of the Indians voted for guilty, as did the

English jurors. Tobias and Mattashanamo were hanged on 8 June 1675, and

Wampapaquan was reprieved for an unspecified reason but was shot to death

within a month. Unrest among the Wampanoag

against the Plymouth Colony quickly spread after the hangings, as they felt

their own authority usurped when Englishmen put Wampanoag on trial for killing

other Wampanoag. Metacomet ("Philip") began to collect and arm

members of his band, and began to talk with allies around the region about

expelling the English from America once and for all. On June 18 and 19, a few of Metacomet's band raided the

house of Job Winslow, and on June 20 and 23 they burned a few houses south of Swansea . When a

small group was setting fire to a house in Swansea , an Englishman caught three Indians

running away and instructed his boy to shoot them; he hit one of them in the

back He was not killed instantly, but fled and died later that day.

A group of Indians returned to the fort and informed them that the

shot Indian had died, and asked why he had been shot in the back while

fleeing. The boy who had shot him replied callously "it was no

matter." Several other English around tried to convince the Indians

it was not a callous shooting, but the damage had already been done. The

Indians returned the next day and killed the boy, his father, and five others.

A conflicting account also says the boy's mother was raped and scalped,

but this appears not to be the case as she appears in later town records still

alive. King Philip's War of 1675-1676

is what followed in the aftermath. Massachusetts Bay Colony came quickly

to the aid of Plymouth after they failed at a diplomatic solution with Metacomet. Metacomet

quickly destroyed the town of Dartmouth , forced

the evacuation of Middleboro , and then his group fled to central Massachusetts where they

continued to raid, attack, and burn villages while gaining additional allies.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was worried the Narragansett might ally

themselves with "King Philip", so they made a military offensive (a

preemptive strike) against them--which only had the effect of pushing the

Narragansett into the very alliance they were trying to prevent in the first

place. The Mohegans and a small band of Niantics led by Ninigret sided

with the English in the war, but most other Native American groups in the

region allied themselves (in name, if not in action) with Metacomet. The Plymouth colonists reacted strongly, and in

August 1675 it was declared that 112 captured Indians would be sold into servitude,

setting a precedent for later prisoners of war. Most would get sold to

sea captains who in turn sold them in the West Indies to serve on sugar plantations. In December, the English organized their

troops and on December 19 engaged in a battle known as the Great Swamp Fight,

in which many Narragansett were killed and their supply chain blocked.

Indian raids did not stop, however, and in fact started coming closer to

major towns, including an attack on the town of Scituate . Three miles south of Plymouth , one Indian raid

killed Mrs. e. The Plymouth

Court managed to catch and execute the

perpetrators of the attack after their identities were revealed by an Indian

woman. The English were losing the

war, however. The men were constantly occupied trying to protect their

towns from the raids that they did not have time to farm their fields.

Many did not want to leave their families to join the volunteer army,

because that would leave the wife and children unprotected. Because not

enough signed up for the volunteer armies, some had to be pressed into service.

Many refused to serve, and were fined £8. On March 26, 1676, the

Plymouth Company (about sixty-five volunteers) and several Indian guides under

command of Pierce encountered a band of Narragansett numbering nearly

1,000 on the Pawtucket river, and were routed (only a few survived to make it

back to Plymouth). By April, the Plymouth Colony was at its lowest point.

It tried but failed to organize another company of 300 men--many soldiers

pressed into service refused to show up. However, their fortunes in war

were slowly beginning to change. The Indians who had been

waging war on the English were also finding themselves in need of food and

supplies. Their allies were never fully unified, and the various groups

were often fighting for different aims and goals. As planting and harvest

seasons approached, many of Metacomet's allies pulled out to concentrate more

fully on producing much needed food supplies. The English were also

beginning to better understand the unfamiliar war tactics used by the Indians,

and slowly learning how to counter and defend themselves. The English also had Native

American groups as allies, and in desperation became more willing to rely on

help from these groups. Plymouth 's

new Captain, Church, had long been friends with many of the Native

Americans prior to the war, and in many instances he was able to quickly

convert Indians over to his side. In a highly unusual tactic in the

history of warfare, Captain Church managed to turn

many of his prisoners of war into additional troops willing to fight for him

(the Indians who changed sides and fought faithfully would be considered

allies, and would not be sold into slavery like the other prisoners--a useful

incentive). Captain Church succeeded in persuading many Native

American groups to give up their alliance with Metacomet's group. Many of

the Native American groups which wanted Plymouth 's

favor (so they would not be sold into slavery as prisoners of war) offered to

fight on Plymouth 's

side until the war was ended. By August 1676 the only significant group

of Native Americans still at war was the small group led by "King

Philip" himself. And that group spent most of its time simply fleeing

from the pursuing Captain Church . Hiding out

on Mount Hope ,

a deserter from Metacomet's group alerted Captain Church to his whereabouts. Captain Church surrounded the

camp so that Metacomet had nowhere to flee. Metacomet was forced out, and

ran towards two of Church's troops, one an Englishman (possibly Caleb Cooke)

and the other an Indian. According to Captain Chruch's written account,

the Englishman fired and missed, and the Indian fired and killed Metacomet.

A few days later, won, one of Metacom's chief men, was also captured,

and the war was over. On 22 July 1676, the

Council of War ordered the magistrates to put the children of the prisoners of

war into servitude (i.e. slavery until age 25, when the person was freed).

Volunteer soldiers who captured Indians were allowed to sell half of them

as slaves for their own profit. No Indian male over age 14 was allowed to

remain in the Plymouth Colony (to prevent further revolts), but instead had to

be sold into slavery to outsiders only. A very small number of prisoners

(such as won) were tried and executed. Soldiers who had faithfully

volunteered were rewarded with large land grants. Indian lands belonging

to those captured groups were taken over, including what is now Mount Hope and Bristol .

The war cost Plymouth a large amount

of money. Colony taxes from 1675 to 1676 went up 2700%. Donations

from as far away as Ireland came in to help the Plymouth Colony restore buildings and towns that had been

burned. The war also cost the Plymouth Colony well over 100 lives.

For the Native Americans, the war cost hundreds of lives and most of

their land. Today,

there are about 5000 Wampanoag living primarily in Massachusetts .-- Judith Judith S yahoo ID is jumswren not jmsclayton@...email is jmsclayton@... CST;USA-white,40 something.,American born and raised here. ,Freedom isn't

free. I have difficulty writing online. I am told that I talk better than I write. by several people who have seen my writing online.I will take responsibility for writing in the email.but I need to know that one will work it out with me online instead of rejecting me. That hurts. I have been told by several people that at first I am confusing online and then they understand me in time. I am concerned taht no one will write and ask me what I meant but take teh fact that I meant harm when i didn't. That is why this note is here period. I have to leave it here because of others -new ones not understand me. I do have learning problems and processing problems and have seen that play out online. So this is both legit.