- Key People:
- Sassacus
- Related Topics:
- Northeast Indian
Pequot
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Who are the Pequot people?
The Pequot are a group of Algonquian-speaking Native American Indians who historically resided in the Thames valley of Connecticut. Their way of life revolved around cultivating corn, hunting, and fishing.
The Pequot were a powerful group that had economic, political, and military control over the region of Connecticut and eastern Long Island by 1635. They subjugated dozens of other tribes in the area during the 1620s and early 1630s in an attempt to control the region’s fur and wampum trade.
Tensions rose with the arrival of English settlers, erupting into the Pequot War of 1636–37, a brutal conflict that significantly reduced their population and territory. Today, descendants of the Pequot live as part of the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. Early 21st-century population estimates indicated approximately 3,000 Pequot descendants.
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Where did the Pequot traditionally live?
The Pequot, an Algonquian-speaking North American Indian tribe, traditionally resided in the Thames valley, now Connecticut. Their territory was eventually reduced to the region between Narragansett Bay and the Connecticut River due to increasing numbers of colonists encroaching on the tribe’s customary territory. They depended on corn cultivation, hunting, and fishing for survival.
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How did the Pequot organize their society and daily life?
The Pequot were Algonquian-speaking North American Indians living in the Thames valley, now Connecticut. Their society relied on cultivating corn, hunting, and fishing for sustenance.
The Pequot and Mohegan were initially under the joint rule of the Pequot chief Sassacus until Uncas, a subchief, led a rebellion that resulted in Mohegan independence.
Living in settled villages, the Pequot cultivated crops like corn, beans, squash, and tobacco, and they also subsisted on local wild plants and animals.
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What was the Pequot War and why did it happen?
The Pequot War, fought in 1636–37, was a conflict between the Pequot people and an alliance of English settlers from Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and Saybrook colonies, along with their Native American allies. It was sparked by competition for control of the fur and wampum trade in the Connecticut River valley and the murder of English traders.
Tensions escalated, leading to military responses by the English, including attacks on Native villages and crops. The turning point was the Mistick Campaign in May 1637, where Capt. John Mason led English, Mohegan, and Narragansett warriors in an attack on a fortified Pequot village. The English set wigwams on fire, resulting in the deaths of around 400 Pequot people.
The Pequot were eventually defeated, and their territory was claimed by the English. The war had a lasting impact, forever changing the political and social landscape of southern New England and influencing colonial policies toward Native Americans for centuries.
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How did the Pequot War affect the Pequot people?
The Pequot War had devastating effects on the Pequot people, marking a significant turning point in their history and drastically altering their way of life.
The war led to a significant loss of life, with hundreds of Pequot men, women, and children killed during battles like the Mistick Campaign where their fortified village was attacked and burned. Those who survived faced further hardship, as many were either killed, captured by other tribes or the English, or sold into slavery in New England or the West Indies. The remainder were distributed among other tribes, where they were treated so harshly that in 1655 they were placed under the direct control of the colonial government and resettled on the Mystic River.
The English claimed all of Pequot territory by "right of conquest". The Pequot War forever changed the political and social landscape of southern New England and influenced colonial and U.S. policies toward Native Americans for centuries.
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What is the status of the Pequot people today?
The Pequot people are Algonquian-speaking North American Indians originally from the Thames valley in Connecticut. The Pequot War (1636–37) significantly reduced their numbers and land.
Today, descendants of the Pequot live as part of the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. Early 21st-century population estimates indicate approximately 3,000 Pequot descendants.
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Pequot, any member of a group of Algonquian-speaking North American Indians who lived in the Thames valley in what is now Connecticut, U.S. Their subsistence was based on the cultivation of corn (maize), hunting, and fishing. In the 1600s their population was estimated to be 2,200 individuals.
The Mohegan and the Pequot were jointly ruled by the Pequot chief Sassacus until a rebellion of the subchief Uncas resulted in Mohegan independence. For a period from 1620 onward the Pequot and British settlers lived side by side in mutual helpfulness and peaceful trade. Gradually, however, Pequot resentment swelled as increasing numbers of colonists encroached upon the tribe’s customary territory. The Pequot were concerned regarding these intrusions because their territory had already been reduced to the region between Narragansett Bay and the Connecticut River. The Pequot eventually promised all tribal trade to the Dutch, a course of action much resented by the British.
Several incidents had taken place between the Pequot and the British colonizers by the summer of 1636, when matters came to a breaking point. At that time a Boston trader was murdered, presumably by a Pequot, on Block Island. A punitive expedition that was sent by Massachusetts authorities to destroy native villages and crops succeeded only in arousing the tribe to make a more determined defense of its homeland. Puritan clergymen encouraged violence against the Pequot, whom they regarded as infidels, and the British colonists agreed to take up arms.
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The turning point in the vicious 11-month Pequot War that followed was the Mistick Campaign of May 10–26, 1637, in which Capt. John Mason led English, Mohegan, and Narragansett warriors in an attack on the main fortified Pequot village on the site of modern-day Mystic, Connecticut. The Pequot were surprised but quickly mounted a spirited defense that almost led to an English defeat. Realizing that he could not defeat the Pequot in the close quarters of the palisade, Mason ordered their wigwams set afire; some 400 Pequot men, women, and children were burned alive or slaughtered when they tried to escape. After the Pequot were defeated in the subsequent Battle of the English Withdrawal and in the Swamp Fight, most Pequot communities elected to abandon their country rather than continue the war against the English. Many who fled were killed or captured by other tribes or the English, and others were sold into slavery in New England or the West Indies; the remainder were distributed among other tribes, where they received such harsh treatment that in 1655 they were placed under the direct control of the colonial government and resettled on the Mystic River. The English claimed all of Pequot territory by “right of conquest.”
Early 21st-century population estimates indicated approximately 3,000 Pequot descendants.