Pequots and Indians essays

Pequots and Indians essays The war between the Puritans and the Pequot Indians was one of the most striking events in the history of New England, deserving more attention than praised. Whether it was the Puritans simple aggression or the Pequots retaliation, the war of 1637 between the Puritans and Pequots resulted in the rapid English colonization and extermination of the most powerful tribe in New England. Although the Pequots were only trying to defend and fight for their lands, their aggression and reputation for brutality was a factor of the war. Pequots the Algonquin word for destroyers of men, was the name they were given for their reputation of unfriendliness and violence. Between neighboring Indian tribes such as the Narragansetts, the Pequots were unable to keep peace, which resulted in warfare. Another element leading to the cause of war was the Pequots assassination of Captain John Stone and eight other Englishmen. In return the English craved revenge for the murders, but through negotiations they were able to pardon and sign a treaty. But all peace was corrupted when John Oldham brought his trading ship into the Pequot area, early that spring and realized the Pequots could not comply with the treaty. Later that summer, John Gallop found the body of John Oldham massacred on his ship. But not all factors of the war point fingers toward the Pequots. The harshness of the Endicott expedition contributes to the breakout of the war. Seeking revenge for the death of John Oldham, who the Pequots murdered in the summer of 1636, the Puritans established the Endicott expedition. As a result of the expedition many Pequots were murdered and wounded, and Pequot territory was destroyed and looted. The attack that the Puritans so easily spread on the Pequots could have easily resulted in retribution, but the tribe would not persist on reprisal. With back and forth upbringings of revenge and retaliation, the wa...