Table of Contents
To Melissa
LIST OF CHARACTERS
First Settlers and Their Affiliates
William Bradford governor of Plymouth Colony after John Carver dies; writes Of Plymouth Plantation
John Robinson pastor and leader of the English separatists in Leiden before they leave for America
Elder William Brewster Pilgrims leading lay minister
John Carver first governor of Plymouth Colony
Robert Cushman helped organize voyage to America
Thomas Weston leading Adventurer from London
Christopher JonesMayflowers master
Robert Coppin Joness mate and pilot
Captain Miles Standish (wife Rose) Pilgrims leading military officer
Christopher MartinMayflower governor, original purchasing agent
Stephen Hopkins stranger who may have been to Jamestown before boarding the Mayflower
Edward Winslow leading Pilgrim diplomat who also served as governor
John Howland indentured servant who eventually became a leading citizen of the colony
John Billington head of what Bradford called the profanest family on the Mayflower; sons John and Francis
Thomas Morton leader of Merrymount
John Sanders leader of Wessagussett settlement
Phineas Pratt another leader of Wessagussett settlement
John Hamden English gentleman who spent winter of 1623 with the Pilgrims
Native Americans
Massasoit Pokanoket sachem
Canonicus Narragansett sachem
Squanto Pilgrims interpreter, originally from Patuxet (Plymouth Harbor)
Epenow sachem from Marthas Vineyard
Samoset sachem from Pemaquid Point, Maine
Passaconaway sachem and powwow from Merrimack River in southern New Hampshire
Aspinet Nauset sachem
Canacum Manomet sachem
Iyanough Cummaquid sachem
Corbitant Mattapoisett sachem
Hobbamock Pokanoket pniese
Obtakiest Massachusetts sachem
Pecksuot Massachusetts pniese
Wituwamat Massachusetts warrior
Uncas Mohegan sachem, pledged loyalty to Puritans during Pequot War
Miantonomi Narragansett sachem
The Next Generation Settlers
Thomas Prence Plymouth governor
Thomas Willett founder of Wannamoisett and friend of Alexander (Wamsutta)
Major William Bradford Jr. William Bradfords son
John Miles swansea minister whose house became Miles garrison
James Cudworth army commander from scituate
Benjamin Church carpenter and leading captain during King Philips War
Alice Church Benjamin Churchs wife
Josiah Winslow son of Edward; first governor of Plymouth Colony born in the New World
Samuel Moseley leading captain during King Philips War; known for his hatred of Indians
Captain Roger Goulding mariner who rescued Churchs men at the Pease Field Fight and was present at death of Philip
Captain Thomas Lathrop leader at Bloody Brook
Major Robert Treat led Connecticut forces at Great swamp Fight
John Eliot leading Puritan missionary to the Praying Indians
Captain Daniel Gookin superintendent to Praying Indians
Major Samuel Appleton commander of Massachusetts forces
John Gorham led Plymouth forces with William Bradford at Great swamp Fight
Captain Samuel Wadsworth led rescue of Lancaster
Mary Rowlandson (son Joseph, daughters Mary and sarah) captured by Indians at Lancaster
John Rowlandson Mary Rowlandsons husband, minister of Lancaster
Captain Michael Pierce from scituate, killed with most of his men at Blackstone River
Captain George Denison led Connecticut force with Mohegans, Pequots, Niantics that captured Canonchet
John Hoar from Concord, negotiated ransom and release of Mary Rowlandson
Captain William Turner led attack on Indians at Connecticut River
Pastor John Cotton Plymouth minister
John Leverett Massachusetts governor
Native Americans
Wamsutta/Alexander Massasoits eldest son
Weetamoo Alexanders wife, female Pocasset sachem
Metacom/Philip Massasoits younger son, King Philip
Tuspaquin Amies husband, Black sachem of Nemasket
John Sassamon interpreter for Alexander and Philip; one of John Eliots pupils
Awashonks (son Peter) female sakonnet sachem
Tobias one of Philips senior counselors, accused of murdering John sassamon
Totoson sachem from Buzzards Bay, attacked Dartmouth and Clarks garrison
Nimrod one of Philips leading warriors
Canonchet Narragansett sachem
Quinnapin Narragansett sachem and Weetamoos husband during King Philips War, Mary Rowlandsons master
Annawon Philips principal captain
Job Kattenanit Praying Indian, becomes spy for English
Sagamore Sam Nipmuck sachem, bargains with English for ransom of Mary Rowlandson
PREFACE
The Story We Need to Know
WEVE ALL HEARD at least some version of the story of the Mayflower, how in 1620 the Pilgrims sailed to the New World in search of religious freedom; how after drawing up the Mayflower Compact, they landed at Plymouth Rock and befriended the local Wampanoag Indians, who taught them how to plant corn and whose leader, or sachem, Massasoit, helped them celebrate the First Thanksgiving.
But the story of the Pilgrims does not end with the First Thanksgiving. When we look at how the Pilgrims and the Wampanoags maintained more than fifty years of peace and how that peace suddenly erupted into King Philips War, one of the deadliest wars ever fought on American soil, the real history of Plymouth Colony becomes something altogether new, rich, troubling, and complex. Instead of the story we already know, it becomes the story we need to know.
It was King Philip who led me to the Pilgrims. Philip was the son of Massasoit, the Wampanoag leader who formed an alliance with the Pilgrims in 1621. I was researching the history of my adopted home, Nantucket Island, when I encountered a reference to Philip in the towns records. In attempting to answer the question of why Philipwhose headquarters were in modern Bristol, Rhode Islandhad traveled more than sixty-five miles across the water to Nantucket, I realized that I had to begin with Philips father, Massasoit, and the Pilgrims.
