Massasoit

Massasoit (măs'əsoi`ĭt, măs`əsoit'), c.1580–1661, chief of the Wampanoag. He was also known as Ousamequin (spelled in various ways). One of the most powerful native rulers of New England, he went to Plymouth in 1621 and signed a treaty with the Pilgrims, which he faithfully observed until his death. He befriended Roger Williams and was a friend of Edward Winslow. In 1632 he fought his enemy, Canonicus, ruler of the Narragansett. Massasoit's son, Metacomet, became famous as King Philip (see King Philip's War).

Bibliography

See biography by A. G. Weeks (1919).

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Massasoit

(born c. 1590, near present Bristol, R.I.—died 1661, near Bristol) American Indian chief. He was the grand sachem (intertribal chief) of the Wampanoag Indians, who inhabited parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In March 1621, several months after the Mayflower landed, he journeyed to Plymouth and established peaceful relations with the settlers, with whom he shared techniques of planting, fishing, and cooking. In 1623 he was nursed back to health from a serious illness by grateful Pilgrims. After his death, good will gradually dissolved, leading to the bloody King Philip's War (1675), which was led by his son Metacom.

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Massasoit

died 1661, Wampanoag Indian chief, who negotiated peace with the Pilgrim Fathers (1621)