Pocasset village

Last updated

Pocasset was a former Wampanoag settlement, located between present-day Tiverton in Newport County, Rhode Island, and Fall River in Bristol County, Massachusetts. [1] [2] Pocasset is also the band of Wampanoag who lived in the settlement.

Contents

This village site should not be confused with Pocasset, Massachusetts, a census-designated place within the town of Bourne in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, [3] about 50 miles east of this Pocasset. The site of Bourne, Massasschusetts was first a Praying Town settled in 1674, possibly also known as Pispogutt. [4]

Name

Pocasset is a Wôpanâak name which translates as "Where a strait widens out." [2] It is also spelled Paugusset, Pocasicke, Pocasett, Pocassitt, Pokeesett, and Powakasick. [2]

The band of Wampanoag people associated with Pocasset were also called the Troy Indians, Weetemore Indians, [2] and Fall River Indians. [1]

History

Precontact

The area is part of the Sapowet Point-Almy Brook Area which contains more than 40 archaeological sites, dating back to 4000 years ago. [5]

17th century

From about 1618 to 1630, Corbitant (c. 1595 – 1630) was the chief or sachem of Pocasset. [6]

In 1659, the Plymouth Colony purchased Wampanoag lands near Fall River from Wamsutta (c. 1634 – 1662), a Wampanoag sachem, in the "Freeman's Purchase." [7] Wamsutta was the brother of Metacomet (Wampanoag, 1638–1676), [2] also known as King Philip. [8]

In the 1670s, Westamore (Wampanoag, c. 1635 – 1676), a sunksqua or woman chief, governed the community. Westamore, also known as Weetamoo, [5] was the daughter of Corbitant and widow of Wamsutta.

Leading up to the King Philip's War (1675–1676, the Pocasset populations "were so numerous that her armed men, able to go out upon the war path, were supposed to number three hundred." [1] British colonists encroached on Wampanoag land and cleared forests, which reduced local game for subsistence. [1] When war broke out, Westamore sent warriors in support of Metacomet. Her husband at the time, Petonanuit, sided with the English, and his followers became the Fall River Indian settlement. [9]

A skirmish took place near the village between the Pocasset Wampanoag warriors loyal and English and Fall River Indian volunteers, [9] under the command of Colonel Benjamin Church. [5]

Westamore drowned in the Tehticut River while fleeing English soldiers in 1676. [8] Immediately after the fighting, the Pocasset Wampanoags fled to Narragansett territory for temporary refuse from the English. [10]

After the battle, the Plymouth Colony allowed the Fall River Indians who fought under Church to settle among the English colonists. [9] In 1679 and 1680, the Colony of New Plymouth bought the "Pocasset Purchase." [7]

Notable Pocasset

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Dubuque, Hugo Abelard (1907). Fall River Indian Reservation. Fall River, MA. pp. 36–37. Retrieved 10 April 2024.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Hodge, Frederick Webb (1912). Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 270. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  3. ↑ US Census Bureau (March 2003). Massachusetts: 2000. Darby, PA: Diane Publishing. p. 193. ISBN   9781428985841 . Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  4. ↑ Hodge, Frederick Webb (1912). Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 263. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 "Native American Archaeology in Rhode Island" (PDF). Providence: Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission. 2002. p. 56. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  6. ↑ Drake, Samuel G. "Corbitant, Pocasset Sachem". Celebrate Boston. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  7. 1 2 Dubuque, 18
  8. 1 2 Hodge, Frederick Webb (1912). Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 936. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 Dubuque, Hugo Abelard (1907). Fall River Indian Reservation. Fall River, MA: Dubuque. pp. 43–44. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  10. ↑ Judge, Leonard P. (2010). Mary's Master: Colonization and the Indians in 17th Century New England. Judge. p. 149. ISBN   9781440188176 . Retrieved 10 April 2024.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth Colony</span> English colonial venture in America (1620–1691)

Plymouth Colony was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on the Mayflower at a location that had previously been surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement served as the capital of the colony and developed as the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts. At its height, Plymouth Colony occupied most of the southeastern portion of Massachusetts. Many of the people and events surrounding Plymouth Colony have become part of American folklore, including the American tradition of Thanksgiving and the monument of Plymouth Rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metacomet</span> Elected chief of the Wampanoag Indians

Metacomet, also known as Pometacom, Metacom, and by his adopted English name King Philip, was sachem to the Wampanoag people and the second son of the sachem Massasoit. His older brother Wamsutta briefly became sachem after their father's death in 1661. However, Wamsutta also died shortly thereafter and Metacom became sachem in 1662.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Philip's War</span> 1675–78 war in New England

King Philip's War was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands and the English New England Colonies and their indigenous allies. The war is named for Metacomet, the Pokanoket chief and sachem of the Wampanoag who adopted the English name Philip because of the friendly relations between his father Massasoit and the Plymouth Colony. The war continued in the most northern reaches of New England until the signing of the Treaty of Casco Bay on April 12, 1678.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wampanoag</span> Native American tribes in Massachusetts

The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and formerly parts of eastern Rhode Island. Their historical territory includes the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narragansett people</span> Native American tribe from Rhode Island, US

The Narragansett people are an Algonquian American Indian tribe from Rhode Island. Today, Narragansett people are enrolled in the federally recognized Narragansett Indian Tribe. They gained federal recognition in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massasoit</span> Leader of the Wampanoag confederacy

Massasoit Sachem or Ousamequin was the sachem or leader of the Wampanoag confederacy. Massasoit means Great Sachem. Massasoit was not his name but a title. English colonists mistook Massasoit as his name and it stuck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pokanoket</span> Native American village and 17th c. Native American political division

The Pokanoket was the village governed by Massasoit. The term broadened to refer to all peoples and lands governed by Massasoit and his successors, which were part of the Wampanoag people in what is now Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusett</span> Historic Native American tribe from Massachusetts

The Massachusett were a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hills overlooking Boston Harbor from the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Alderman</span> 17th-century Wampanoag Praying Indian

John Alderman, also known as Isaac and Antoquan, was a Wampanoag praying Indian who shot and killed the Native American leader Metacomet in 1676, during King Philip's War, while taking part in a punitive expedition led by Captain Benjamin Church. Alderman was a subsachem in the Westport/Dartmouth area of what is now Bristol County, Massachusetts. He was called Alderman because he was considered a close associate and counselor for King Philip. When Philip summarily murdered Alderman's brother in front of him because of his dissension, Alderman changed sides and joined Benjamin Church, an English colonist who had settled in nearby Little Compton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weetamoo</span> Native American leader

Weetamoo, also referred to as Weethao, Weetamoe, Wattimore, Namumpum, and Tatapanunum, was a Pocasset Wampanoag Native American Chief. She was the sunksqua, or female sachem, of Pocasset tribe, which occupied contemporary Tiverton, Rhode Island in 1620. The Pocasset, which she led, was one of groups of the Wampanoag.

Wamsutta, also known as Alexander Pokanoket, as he was called by New England colonists, was the eldest son of Massasoit Ousa Mequin of the Pokanoket Tribe and Wampanoag nation, and brother of Metacomet.

Awashonks was a saunkskwa, a female sachem (chief) of the Sakonnet tribe in Rhode Island. She lived near the southern edge of the Plymouth Colony on Patuxet homelands, not far from Narragansett Bay, near what is currently known by settlers as Little Compton, Rhode Island. In the mid-seventeenth century, English settlers of Plymouth Colony invaded her lands. While she had allied herself to the English to increase her power, English colonization eroded her standing among both the English and the Sakonnet. Awashonks is known for her special talent for negotiation and diplomacy, which helped include the Sakonnets among Native communities who received amnesty from colonists.

Corbitant was a Wampanoag sachem under Massasoit. Corbitant was the sachem of the Pocasset tribe in present-day North Tiverton, Rhode Island, c. 1618–1630. He lived in Mattapuyst or Mattapoiset, located in the southern part of today's Swansea, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Swamp Fight</span> 1675 battle of King Philips War

The Great Swamp Massacre or the Great Swamp Fight was a crucial battle fought during King Philip's War between the colonial militia of New England and the Narragansett people in December 1675. It was fought near the villages of Kingston and West Kingston in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The combined force of the New England militia included 150 Pequots, and they inflicted a huge number of Narragansett casualties, including many hundred women and children. The battle has been described as "one of the most brutal and lopsided military encounters in all of New England's history." Since the 1930s, Narragansett and Wampanoag people commemorate the battle annually in a ceremony initiated by Narragansett-Wampanoag scholar Princess Red Wing.

Hobbamock was a Pokanoket pniese who came to live with the Plymouth Colony settlers during the first year of their settlement in North America in 1620. His name was variously spelled in 17th century documents and today is generally simplified as Hobomok. He is known for his rivalry with Squanto, who lived with the settlers before him. He was greatly trusted by Myles Standish, the colony's military commander, and he joined with Standish in a military raid against the Massachuset. Hobomock was also greatly devoted to Massasoit, the sachem of the Pokanoket, who befriended the English settlers. Hobomok is often claimed to have been converted to Christianity, but what that meant to him is unclear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Hope (Rhode Island)</span> Small hill in Bristol, Rhode Island, US

Mount Hope is a small hill in Bristol, Rhode Island overlooking the part of Narragansett Bay known as Mount Hope Bay. It is the highest point in Bristol County, RI. The 7000 acres that now make up the Town of Bristol in Rhode Island were called the Mt. Hope Lands. The elevation of Mt. Hope summit is 209 feet, and drops sharply to the bay on its eastern side. Mount Hope was the site of a Wampanoag (Pokanoket) village. It is remembered for its role in King Philip's War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quashaamit</span>

Quashaamit was a bilingual Praying Indian sachem or sub-sachem, and teaching minister, possibly affiliated with the Nipmuc, (Massachusett) and Wampanoag tribes. Quashaamit worked closely with Massasoit, Metacomet, Wamsutta, and Wampatuck and deeded large tracts of land to early settlers in what is now Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Pumham was one of Metacomet's chief advisors during King Phillip's War. He was sachem of Shawomet. He was described as "one of the stoutest and most valiant sachems that belonged to the Narragansett." He was friends with English settlers, but aligned himself with Metacomet when war broke out.

The Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation is one of several cultural heritage organizations of individuals who identify as descendants of the Wampanoag people in Rhode Island. They formed a nonprofit organization, the Pocasset Pokanoket Land Trust, Inc., in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zerviah Gould Mitchell</span>

Zerviah Gould Mitchell was a Wampanoag educator, basket weaver, and direct descendant of the sachem Massasoit. In 1878, she published Indian History, Biography and Genealogy: Pertaining to the Good Sachem Massasoit of the Wampanoag Tribe, and His Descendants with historian Ebenezer W. Peirce, and the book included a narration of the life of Massasoit, as well as a genealogy of Massasoit's descendants.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.