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Metacomet's goals were the extermination
of the European settlers and elimination of their settlements.
Some say the war was inevitable due to the differences between
European and Indian cultures, and that certainly was a factor.
But probably the most important cause of the war was that the
growth of English settlements put increased pressure on the Indians
to cede more and more land. While this was happening, the number
of Indians diminished as European diseases wiped out a large
segment of their population. Over time, the English colonies
exerted more and more authority over the Indian tribes. The Indians'
way of life was threatened, and their response, brutal as it
was, is not difficult to comprehend.
Fighting erupted in June, 1675
and in the beginning Metacomet's guerrilla tactics were highly
successful. Eventually, however, the colonists were able to mount
a counteroffensive and utlimately to gain complete control. In
December 19, 1675, as part of that counteroffensive, the colonists
launched a major attack against the Narragansetts in what has
become known as the Great Swamp Fight near Kingston, Rhode Island.
This was a preemptive strike against the Narragensetts who were
not yet at war with the colonists, but they were known to be
providing food and shelter to Wampanoags and the colonists felt
it was just a matter of time before the Narraganetts launched
an attack of their own. Although many Narragensetts were killed,
many escaped to fight again. In 1676, after the defeat of his
forces, King Philip was tracked down and killed by a Christian
Indian in a swamp near present-day New Hope, Rhode Island. By
July 1676 most Indian resistance had been quashed, though some
fighting continued in New Hampshire and Maine until 1678.
It may seem today as though the
victory of the colonists was inevitable, but at the time this
was hardly clear. What probably hurt the Indians more than anything
was their inability to unite with one another. While, the Nipmuc,
Pocumtuc, and other Indian tribes of central and western Massachusetts
joined forced with King Philip, the Mohegans, Christian Indians,
and Pequots sided with the Europeans. In 1676, King Philip held
a meeting in Hoosic, New York trying to expand the war by by
involving French-allied Indians, but the Mohegans broke up the
gathering. Meanwhile, the various colonies were able to coordinate
their efforts.
For the colonists the war exacted
a heavy toll. Of the 80 settlements in existence at the start
of the war, a dozen or more were completely burned to the ground
and half were damaged in lesser degree. At one point, Indian
forces were within 20 miles of Boston. Estimates of casualties
vary greatly, but a recent article claims that 2500 English settlers
were slain, which was about 5% of entire European population
of the colonies.
For the Indians the war was a
complete catastrophe, with 5000 slain, an estimated 40% of their
population. Among the hostile Indians who survived the war, those
who had been most active were either executed or sold into slavery.
King Philip's head was cut off and displayed on a spike in Plymouth
for about 25 years. Perhaps the worst tragedy of the war for
the Indians is that the alliances and trade networks which had
preceded the war were replaced by a system of reservations where
even those Indians who had allied themselves with the colonists
were reduced to permanent second-class citizens.
References:
The Oxford Companion to United
States History. Paul S. Boyer, editor. Oxford University Press,
Oxford, copyright 2001.
A History of the American People.
Paul Johnson. Harper Perennial. New York, 1999.
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