The Cause And Effects Of The Pequot War

The Pequot war was a bloody conflict that demonstrated the hatred and distrust between the the Puritans and the Pequot Tribe. Both sides were deeply suspicious of each other” (10). The Puritans viewed the Native Americans as “godless savages” (19) while the Native Americans viewed the Puritans as invaders. Rather than trying to coexist, the English firmly believed “there would be no assimilation of Indian culture” (24) which lead to even more tensions that eventually manifested in the form of the Pequot war.

On May 26, 1637, English settlers under Captain John Mason, and Narragansett and Mohegan allies set fire to a Pequot fort near the Mystic River. The fort only had two entrances, and anybody that tried to flee the fort was shot by awaiting enemies. The only Pequots that survived were those who had followed their sachem Sassacus in a raiding party outside the village. This attack on the fort almost entirely wiped out the Pequot population and resulted in them eventually losing the war. As a result of this the 1638 treaty of Hartford was signed, stating that all remaining

Though Britain gained the territory of New France and French Canada, France and Britain both suffered financially because of the war with significant long-term

May 26, 1637 was a fateful day in the history of America. The actions of Major John Mason and his Puritan men set a precedent for the next two hundred years of European and Indian relations. On that clear May night near the Mystic River of New England, hundreds of Pequot Indians were killed by the Europeans and their allies, most of the victims being the elderly, women, and children. This massacre was a massive turning point in the Pequot War, effectively ruining the tribe. Already weakened by disease and by competing native tribes, the Pequot were quickly routed and by September 21, 1638 the war ended with the Treaty of Hartford. The treaty

In New England, John Winthrop began conflicts early when he declared that the Indians had only a natural right to their land and no legal right. The Puritans and Pequot Indians lived side by side with relative peace until an attack was launched upon the Narraganset Indians. Not many people were killed and the Narragansets did not fight back, but when the Puritans attacked the Pequot Indians, they fought back. The Pequot War was one of large massacres, rather than battles, from both sides and had many deaths. "Mason proposed to avoid attacking Pequot warriors, which would have overtaxed his unseasoned, unreliable troops. Battle, as such, was not his purpose. Battle is only one of the ways to destroy an enemy's will to fight. Massacre can accomplish the same end with less risk, and Mason had determined that massacre would be his objective" (Jennings). The Europeans raided the Pequot village and burned all of

In exchange, the encomendero could force the Native Americans to pay tribute in forms of bullion and labor. Eventually, the native people began to die off from the harsh labor and foreign diseases that the Spanish brought from Spain. The Native Americans rejected Spanish control and returned to their customs. Angered by this, the Spanish captured 46 Pueblo leaders, which started the Pueblo Revolt. After years of fighting, the Spanish regained control. In New England, relationships with local Native Americans started out peaceful. The Native Americans and settlers of New England began to trade with each other. Native Americans, who were used to their elementary weapons, acquired better weapons from the Europeans. This once beneficiary exchange between the two cultures eventually grew tense. As years went on and more settlers came to America, conflicts arose. An agreement formed between Dutch settlers of New York and the English settlers of New England about the division of the Pequot lands. When no immediate decisions were reached of who would gain the land, New Englanders started to settle in the area without notice. The Pequot took this unplanned invasion as a form of attack, and fought back. After a series of attacks, New England called for reinforcements from allies. By joining forces with Plymouth and the Narragansett people, the English gained control

     Lepore suggests that a significant cause of the war was the fear and ignorance the two groups had for one another. The Algonquin Indians worried that they were becoming like the Europeans because they had taken to wearing Western clothes, living in houses, and reading the bible. On the contrary, the English, far from home, had adopted Native American customs and cuisine, had stopped

The Pequot War is a classic example of the tension that existed between the Indians and the colonists in early America. Zinn chooses to illustrate the Indians as completely innocent and harmless, placing the blame on the Europeans, while Foner illustrates the Pequots as Indians capable of holding their own. According to Howard Zinn, the Pequot War was caused by the “murder of a white trader, Indian-kidnapper, and troublemaker became an excuse to make war” (Zinn 14). Zinn’s bias is clear when he claims that this murder was an excuse, which makes it seem as though the Puritans couldn’t wait to murder a bunch of Pequots. This contributes towards making the Puritans look greedy and selfish. Foner, on the other hand, claims that “the turning point came in 1637 when a fur trader was killed by Pequots- a powerful tribe who controlled southern New England’s fur trade and exacted tribute from other Indians” (Foner 78).

The Pequot War was the first brutal war on the North American continent, and the first war fought between the Native Americans and the English settlers. The whole war began, because the Englishmen, like always, became greedy and wanted more land and more profitable trade. The homeland of the Pequot tribe, was modern day Connecticut. The tribe had an estimated population of 2,200 members, and they based their everyday lives off of maize, hunting, and even fishing (Pequot, 2012). For a period of time, the English settlers and the Native American tribe lived peacefully with a fair-trading system and they helped each other, but that did not last long. One reason for the Englishmen coming to the North American continent, was to spread the faith of Christianity. Believing that God had given the English settlers the right to settle in the new-found land, they saw great opportunities to convert the “savages” to their Christian ways (Pequot, 2012). The English settlers began invading the Pequot’s territory, and almost completely pushed them off of their land. “There were disputes over property, livestock damaging Indian crops, hunting, the selling of alcohol to Indians, and dishonest traders” (1636- The Pequot War, n.d.). Not only did the Pequot’s have issues with the English settlers, they were always on bad terms with the Narragansett tribe as well. The tribe separated into two parts, the “pro-English and pro-Dutch” (Colonialwarsct.org). This event made the Indians very weak,

Before the arrival of white people to the continent, Native Americans still engaged in war between the various different tribes. Their reasons for fighting each other were drastically different than the reasons they had when fighting non-Indians. Some Native American battles were fought for revenge. The most common cause of war between Native American groups was probably to defend or enlarge tribal territory. Later, their conflicts with white people were fought for trying to prevent the theft of their land, or in raids for food and supplies they were denied. There have been many famous clashes between Indians and the United States government. On November 4th 1791, In what is considered the worst ever defeat administered by Indians to U. S. troops more than 600 soldiers were killed by a force of mostly Shawnees and other Indians. The cause of the conflict was settlers moving into the Indian’s land in large numbers, ignoring Indians rights and demanding military protection if the Indians opposed them. This kind of situation was the cause for many of the largest fights with Native Americans, for example the battle of little big horn (otherwise known as Custer’s last stand) in which Indians that were ready for the arrival of the Calvary killed every soldier under General Custer’s command. A battle which United States

Starting in 1754, the French and Indian War was a war between the English colonies and those of New France. The main cause of this war was the dispute over several areas of land and who had rightful ownership of them. The Ohio River Valley was a pinnacle area of land that caused the most dispute. Originally inhabited by Native Americans, the Ohio River Valley was an oasis of natural resources. It was heavily coveted by both the French and the English. Before the war, the French had seized control of it which angered the English and is one of the initial causes of the war. At that time, both the British and the French were in a race to expand their territories as far as they could too see which nation could have the most power. The title of the war being The

Contrast and Compare the Causes and Outcomes of the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and the War of 1812.

In 1637, warfare started to erupt between a group of English colonists and an Indian tribe named Pequot. The English settlers along with a

In 1675, the Algonquian Indians rose up in fury against the Puritan Colonists, sparking a violent conflict that engulfed all of Southern New England. From this conflict ensued the most merciless and blood stricken war in American history, tearing flesh from the Puritan doctrine, revealing deep down the bright and incisive fact that anger and violence brings man to a Godless level when faced with the threat of pain and total destruction. In the summer of 1676, as the violence dispersed and a clearing between the hatred and torment was visible, thousands were dead.(Lepore xxi) Indian and English men, women, and children, along with many of the young villages of New England were no more; casualties of a conflict that

The French and Indian War, a part of the larger 7 Years’ War, was a conflict between the British colonies in America and the French over land disputes. When both the colonists and the Native American counterparts of the French claimed the Ohio River Valley, the British Parliament sent troops to defend the interest of the colonists. This conflict lead to multiple battles, which left long-lasting repercussions upon the colonies. These repercussions eventually escalated all the way to the American Revolution. The French and Indian War had great effect on the political structure, economic relations, and ideological positions of the American colonies.