Assacumet (also known as Assacomet, Assecomet, Sassacommett, Sassacomoit) was an early 17th-century Native American from the Wawenock Abenaki tribe. [1] [2]
Assacumet was captured in 1605 by Capt. George Weymouth of the ship Archangel near the Pemaquid River in Maine together with four others. Some sources list the other four as Tasquantum (better known as Squanto), Manida, Skettwarroes, and Dehamda; others list them as Tahanedo ("a Sagamo or Commander"), Amoret, Skicowaros, and Maneddo (listed as "gentlemen". Sassacomoit is listed as "a servant".) They were taken to England with the intention of teaching them English before being returned to North America in order to aid future English efforts at colonization. [3] [1] [4]
In England, Assacumet and at least two of the other Native Americans were given to Sir Ferdinando Gorges, and learned English. In 1606 Gorges sent an expedition to America under Capt. Henry Challoung (also known as Chalowns and Chalon), with Assacumet and Manida, to the West Indies and Puerto Rico. The ship was captured by a Spanish fleet and taken to Spain. The ship and goods were confiscated, and the crew made prisoners in Seville. Manida was "lost" but Assacumet was eventually "recovered", after Captain John Barlee wrote to Secretary Cecil, urging him to use his influence to win the release of the two "savages.". [5] [1] [6] [7]
Returned to Gorges' home, Assacumet was lodged with Epenow, a Wampanoag captive captured in 1611, and helped him improve his English. [8]
In 1614, Assacumet accompanied Gorges' expedition under Capt. Nicholas Hobson to Martha's Vineyard, where they had convinced him that gold lay in a ploy to escape, and where Epenow ultimately escaped. [9]
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Tisquantum, more commonly known as Squanto, was a member of the Wampanoag Patuxet tribe best known for being an early liaison between the Native American population in Southern New England and the Mayflower Pilgrims who made their settlement at the site of Tisquantum's former summer village, now Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Patuxet tribe had lived on the western coast of Cape Cod Bay, but an epidemic infection wiped them out, likely brought by previous European explorers.
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Epenow was a Nauset man from Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts who was kidnapped by sailors from an English merchant ship and taken to England in the 17th century. Being put on public display in London, Epenow eventually returned to New England by tricking his captors into thinking that he knew the location of a gold mine. Once he was back in New England, Epenow led Indian resistance to Pilgrim settlement of the region.
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