The Pilgrims obviously needed help in farming the new land, growing new crops, and surviving in the New World. But the Wampanoag needed something, too. In the decade before the Pilgrims arrived, sickness wasn't the only means of death for many Wampanoag. A series of three separate and deadly illnesses had wiped out three-quarters of their population, but they also fought wars against neighboring tribes and then eventually came under the control of a rival group of Native Americans, the Narragansett. When the Pilgrims arrived, the Wampanoag were being required to pay tribute to the Narragansett. In effect, the Wampanoag were paying the Narragansett not to attack them. It was the fervent hope of Massasoit, the Wampanoag Grand Sachem, that the Pilgrims could provide some assistance in turning back the power of the Narragansett.
The English, then, threw in their lot with the Wampanoag, who were equally dependent on this strange new people for helping them survive. The Narragansett, meanwhile, saw this treaty for what it was: a prelude to an alliance. As they were getting ready to attack the English, however, they themselves were attacked, by the Pequot, another neighboring tribe that had a warlike history. Not long after that attack ended, the Mohawk took their turn. The Narragansett, it seemed, weren't much liked by their neighbors. Meanwhile, the Plymouth settlement grew, with the help of Squanto, Samoset, Massasoit, and other Wampanoag. Another English ship arrived in 1622; rather than become suspicious, the Wampanoag brought food and welcomed more of their new "allies." The English returned the favor the following year by nursing a gravely ill Massasoit back to good health. This friendship continued for a decade. The Narragansett came calling again in 1632, but by then the English-Wampanoag partnership was strong enough to withstand and attack and drove the invaders back (it turns out, for the last time).
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David White