Bonus | An Unfortunate Undoing - The Narragansett & Pokanoket People

In part 2 of this 2 part bonus episode we watch the Narragansett and Pokanoket people fight to salvage their way of life as the power of the English grows stronger every year. 

20 minutes | 1639 - 1676

Hear About:

📜Why relations between the Narragansett and English colonists began to deteriorate.

📜How the Narragansett began to lose power in the mid 17th century.

📜The factors that led the Narragansett and Pokanoket people to go to war with the English colonists in 1675.

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Key Historical Figures Introduced
Canonicus

Miantonomi

Co-Sachem of the Narragansett people during the first half of the 17th century and newphew of Canonicus. 

 

Uncas_and_Miantonomoh

Uncas

Sachem of the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut and a man whos alliance with the English frustrated Miantonomi. 

 

osamequin

Metacom aka King Philip

Son of Osamequin and Sachem of the Pokanoket people when King Philip's War broke out in 1675.

 

Visit Locations From the Show
The location where Newport was founded in 1639 (8)

Cocumscussoc | Wickford, RI

Cocumscussoc is the anglancized version of the Narragansett word "Cawcawmqussick" and was a place of extreme importance to the Narragansett people.  Therefore, when their Sachem, Canonicus, passed away in 1647 tens of thousands Narragansett men, women, and children gathered at Cocumscussoc to morn his death.

Maps, Graphs, and Images
deeds ss-1

17th Century Narragansett Land Purchases

At first, the Narragansett people willingly sold off land to English colonists because of the economic and political benefits they provided.  However, as the 17th century progressed, economic challenges forced the Narragansett people to sell off their land at a rapid rate.  

Narr. land sales

Southern Rhode Island Land Purchases in the 1650s & 1660s

Although the Narragansett tribe ruled over all of the land that now makes up Rhode Island, by the mid 17th century most of it had been sold off to English colonists.  Eventually, the only land they had left was what we know as Washington County today.  Their land holdings shrank even further when the tribe faced economic challenges from 1650 to 1675.  These financial woes were due to the drop in price of fur and wampum (Narragansett's primary trading commodity) alongwith a series of unjust fines levied against their Sachems by the colonies surrounding Rhode Island.  Therefore, in an act of desperation, the Narragansett tribe rapidly began selling off what remained of their land. 

King Philips War Key Rhode Island Engagements (3)

King Philip's War in Rhode Island

Although the English eventually won King Philip's War, the indigenous tribes put up a fierce fight at first.  Following the "battle" of the Great Swamp Massacre in souther Rhode Island, the Narragansett tribe joined the fighting and unleashed numerous deadly attacks on towns throughout the colony.

Learn More
Books:
  • A History of the Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island: Keepers of the Bay by Robert A. Geake
  • God, War, and Providence: The Epic Struggle of Roger Williams and the Narragansett Indians against the Puritans of New England by James A. Warren
  • Manitou and Providence: Indians, Europeans, and the Making of New England, 1500-1643 by Neal Salisbury
  • Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England by William Cronon
  • The Lands of Rhode Island as They Were Known to Caunounicus and Miantunnomu When Roger Williams Came in 1636 by Sidney Smith Rider 

 

Media