What Were the Puritans' Attitudes Towards the Indians?
- When the Puritans landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, they established the first colony in what would one day be known as the United States of America. They founded a new colony a decade later, in Boston, and it flourished. The Puritans who settled were welcomed by the Native Americans in that region, although the Puritans remained somewhat ambivalent toward them. Their religious beliefs compelled them to treat the Native Americans with Christian charity, and trade with the tribes was an essential part of Puritan survival. However, the Puritans were also fearful of their Native neighbors, who they considered to be untamed savages.
- The widely disseminated tale behind the origin of Thanksgiving recounts how the Pilgrims were unable to farm the land and provide adequate food for themselves, and tjeu almost starved to death during their first winter. In the spring, the local Native American tribe, the Wampanoags, showed them proper farming techniques and taught them how to live off the land. Later, the grateful Pilgrims invited the Native Americans to share a feast with them to thank them for their help. While records indicate this did indeed occur, the Europeans' attitudes toward Native Americans were far less benign.
- As more settlers arrived in New England, the Puritans became less dependent on the Native Americans for trade and advice. These new arrivals hadn't had the same experience with the Wampanoags as the earlier settlers had, and mistrusted the Natives. They looked down on them as uneducated heathen who needed to be taught European customs and religion. Hostilities developed and grew, leading to increasingly violent clashes between Native Americans and European settlers.
In the 1620s, Dutch settlers commenced trading with the Pequot tribe, but tensions between the Europeans and the Native Americans eventually led to violence. A 1636 skirmish between the Pequots and the British led to a Pequot attack on a Connecticut settlement, killing nine British settlers. A week later, the General Court of Connecticut declared war on the Pequots. They mobilized an army consisting of about 90 Englishmen and 70 Native Americans from a tribe that was at odds with the Pequots. This force attacked a Pequot settlement on Connecticut's Mystic River, killing an estimated 600 to 700 men, women and children. - In the 1620s, Dutch settlers commenced trading with the Pequot tribe, but tensions between the Europeans and the Native Americans eventually resulted in violence. A 1636 skirmish between the Pequots and the British led to a Pequot attack on a Connecticut settlement, killing nine British settlers. A week later, the General Court of Connecticut declared war on the Pequots. An army was mobilized, consisting of about 90 Englishmen and 70 Native Americans from a tribe that was at odds with the Pequots. This force attacked a Pequot settlement on Connecticut's Mystic River, killing an estimated 600 to 700 men, women and children.