Everything about Massasoit totally explained
Massasoit Sachem or
Ousamequin (c.
1581-
1661),
was the
sachem, or leader, of the
Pokanoket, and "Massasoit" of the
Wampanoag Confederacy. The term
Massasoit actually means
Great Sachem.
Biography
Early Years
Massasoit (Ousamequin) was born
circa 1581
In
1659, Massasoit sold a tract of land to
Miles Standish and others of
Duxbury.
Consequences of alliance
For nearly forty years, the Wampanoag and the English of
Massachusetts Bay Colony maintained an increasingly uneasy peace until Massasoit's death. Throughout this time, and in order to maintain the peace, Massasoit sold lands which the English insisted on having.
It is unclear when Massasoit died. Some accounts claim that Massasoit died as early as
1660; others contend that he died as late as
1662. Very likely, Massasoit was anywhere from eighty to ninety years old at the time. When Massasoit died, his son Wamsutta (Alexander) became his successor, but when Wamsutta also died in
1662, Metacom (Philip) succeeded him. Unfortunately, of Massasoit's five children, the only child to survive
King Philip's War in 1676 was his daughter,
Amie, wife of Tispaquin.
Legacy
During his reign as grand sachem, Massasoit never permitted the Pokanoket to convert to
Christianity, and with great diplomatic skill, managed to stay such efforts. Perhaps unsurprisingly however, the half century of peace that Massasoit so assiduously negotiated collapsed soon after his death. Breaking with his father's diplomacy, and in response to increasing depredations into Wampanoag territory by his ally,
Massachusetts Bay Colony, Wamsutta began to form an alliance with
Connecticut Colony. Within a year of his succession, and almost immediately after appearing in front of the court, in
1662, Wamsutta died suddenly. Metacom, Massasoit's second son, became sachem of the Pokanoket, and chief sachem of the Greater Wampanoag Confederacy. Metacom, also known as Philip, certainly believed that Wamsutta had been murdered at the hands of the English. Wamsutta's death was one of the leading factors that eventually led to
King Philip's War, the bloodiest war in American history — indeed, more so than the
American Civil War in terms of lives lost proportional to population.
Statues of Massasoit stand near
Plymouth Rock; at the
Utah state capitol building; and on the campus of
Brigham Young University.
Massasoit Community College and
Massasoit State Park, both located in
Massachusetts, are named after him.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Massasoit'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://massasoit.totallyexplained.com">Massasoit Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
