| Bio notes |
Hendricks Aupaumut discussed an old alliance formed between the Mahicans and Delawares, as well as the Waupug. Probably referring to Wampanoag Indians, also known as Massasoit, Pokanoket, Wapenok. An Algonquian-speaking people historically located in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, including the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, the Wampanoag were a sophisticated Confederacy incorporating numerous villages under one chief sachem. They first encountered Europeans early in 17th century, with an epidemic following in the years 1615-1619. The Wampanoag helped the Pilgrims in the first couple years of Plymouth colony. These peaceful relations ended with the influx of Puritans around 1630, who acted more aggressively towards natives and, with the inadvertant help of novel diseases, pushed them westward. After 1650, the Puritans missionizing Wampanoag villages. In response to these new pressures, the Wampanoag Chief Metacomet launched King Phillip’s War (1675-1676), an uprising of various New England tribes. The population was decimated; those not killed or enslaved were forced to relocate to the praying towns of converted Indians or else to the Mashpee Reservation on Cape Cod. In 1788, Massachusetts revoked the Wampanoag right to self-government, which was only partially returned in 1834. In the face of these developments, the Island Wampanoag fared a little better, with three reservations established on Martha’s Vineyard in the 18th and 19th centuries: Chappaquiddick, Christiantown, and Gay Head. |