Mayflower: Question 10

As Mayflower shows, the American Indian tribes of New England were not a monolith, either culturally or politically. However, the English were not consistently able to think of them as separate tribes with different loyalties and desires. How did misconceptions of racial identity complicate the politics of King Philip’s War?

At the very essence of King Philip's War, the English were mostly against the Pokanokets, and their direct allies. Unfortunately, as the war went on, the concept of "direct allies" became more and more hazy and nebulous. There were many complicated variables that served to muddle the picture. Power had shifted, and tribes that were once fierce and feared, such as the Naragansetts, had become somewhat subdued, and so did not play such an active role as would have been assumed.

However, perhaps the greatest misconception made by the English was that of the importance of familial relations. It is easy to understand where said misconception arose, as the clan-based nature of Indian settlements is quite obvious. However, several sachems, including King Philip himself, wrongly assumed they would automatically receive help from other sachems, simply because they were related. Unfortunately, many of these relations were simply marriage relations, so were probably not as significant as it would appear at first glance. My guess is that many of these relations were not because of the desire to strengthen bonds between different tribes, but rather simply marrying within class.

If the relations were complicated to the Indians, then there is no way the English could possibly untangle the complicated web of tribal alliances. To them, everyone was the enemy until proven otherwise, because it was the safe assumption, the assumption that kept them alive. It is difficult to blame them, but ultimately, this greatly slowed their progress, because, as Benjamin Church would later show, there were a great number of Amerindians who were opposed to Philip, and the help of these Indians would be crucial to turning the tide of the war.