BONUS: A Formidable Force - The Narragansett & Pokanoket People

Hello and welcome to the story of Rhode Island. The Podcast that tells you the story of Rhode Island’s fascinating history. In season 1, we discussed the founding of Rhode Island from the perspective of the European colonists but what about the people who had been living around Narragansett Bay for thousands of years before the colonization of New England? Those people are known as the Narragansett and Pokanoket people and for this two part bonus episode, I’d like to tell you their story. It’s a tale of how these two indigenous tribes were once a formidable force but how a set of even more powerful outside forces eventually led to their undoing. As we jump into part 1 of this two part series, we see that the sun is shining brightly on the Narragansett Bay, making an already pleasant spring afternoon just a little bit more enjoyable. It’s the year 1524 and a thriving community of Narragansett people can be seen at their spring village in Cocumscussoc or what we know as Wickford, Rhode Island today. At the center of the village are numerous wood framed houses covered by grass matts and bark, a form of housing known as wetus. Except for a few trees scattered throughout their settlement, the land their village is built on looks like a wide open field. The Narragansett people, like other natives throughout southern New England, use slash and burn techniques to remove trees from the land, allowing the sun to nourish their gardens. Growing in those gardens are corn, beans, and squash, a set of crops that the Narragansett people call the “three sisters”. Numerous women tend to the soil as a group of laughing children scurry around them playing games. When one of the children accidentally tramples some of the crops, an elderly woman scolds the child and tells him to go play somewhere else. The woman shakes her head and bends over to fix the mound of dirt that the vegetables are growing in. As her old hands sift through the rich soil she takes a minute to appreciate the fine planting season their tribe has had thus far. The plants in the soil, along with the addition of game meat, wild plants, and shellfish provide the Narragansett people with a well rounded diet filled with a rich set of nutrients. They live such a healthy lifestyle partly because of the burning techniques that they use to clear the land of trees throughout present day Rhode Island. Along with increasing the rate at which forest nutrients are recycled into the soil it also provides a more hospitable environment for herbivores like deer and turkey, giving the Narragansett people a constant supply of animal protein to hunt. However, the Narragansett people are also careful about depleting any one of these resources. By adjusting the location of their settlements throughout the year and moving to where resources are most abundant, it provides resources an opportunity to replenish themselves. So although life for the Narragansett people is by no means perfect, they've certainly managed to develop quite a healthy, well balanced, and self-sufficient life. The same can be said for other indigenous people living around Narragansett Bay, especially the Narragansett’s biggest rival, the Pokanokets living in present day Bristol and Warren, Rhode Island. Unfortunately, it won’t stay that way forever. Over the next century and a half, Europeans will begin spending an increasing amount of time in New England and before long life for the Narragansett and Pokanoket people will be changed forever. The story of the first interactions between these two cultures and how it ends up wreaking havoc to the Narragansett and Pokanoket tribes is what we’ll cover in this two part bonus episode of the Story of Rhode Island Podcast.

Intro Music

When the elderly woman finishes repairing the damaged crops, she stands up and takes a minute to stretch out her limbs. As she does, she sees their leader, also known as their Sachem, Tashtasick, walking proudly through the village. His long black hair is tied neatly behind his head and wrapped around his neck is a necklace decorated with white and purple shell beads known as wampumpeag. The scarcity of the white and purple shells along with the amount of skilled labor it takes to turn them into beads makes wampumpeag a rarity in the region, reserved only for New England’s most powerful individuals. Tashtasick has certainly earned the right to wear the wampumpeag necklace wrapped around his neck as his tribe stands atop a network of tributary tribes who look to the Narragansetts for protection. The Narragansetts’ power over these smaller tribes is by no means absolute but instead based on a sort of mutual agreement. As long as the smaller tribes continue to have faith in Tashtasick’s leadership abilities and his tribe's ability to improve their way of life then they will remain loyal to the Narragansetts. And the Narragansetts have proven to be highly capable of living up to their side of the bargain, convincing tribes like the Pawtuxet, Shawomet, and Coweeset to remain faithful to the Narragansett Nation. Because of these alliances, the Narragansetts have expanded their territory that used to only consist of present day Washington County to now include all of Kent County and the land on the northwestern tip of the Narragansett Bay as well. Although a formidable force, they are by no means the only substantial power in southern New England. Surrounding them are a handful of tribes who stand on equal footing with the Narragansetts. One of these tribes is the Eastern Nipmuc located in present day northwestern Rhode Island. Then, there’s the Eastern Niantics in southwestern Rhode Island and the Pequots in southeastern Connecticut. But more than anyone of these tribes, it’s the Pokanokets to the east who the Narragansett are most concerned about. While the Pokanokets live a similar lifestyle as the Narragansetts they often fail to see eye to eye and the two tribes are now bitter enemies. It doesn’t help that the Pokanoket’s territory runs right up against Narragansett land as it spans across present day Providence, East Providence, and throughout all of Bristol County, Rhode Island. The Pokanokets' home makes up the southwestern portion of an area known as Sowams. But as the Narragansett Sachem makes his way through his village in Cocumscussoc, it’s not the Pokanokets who are on his mind. Instead he has his mind and eyes set on the enormous ships that have just entered Narragansett Bay. They’re far larger than the canoes his tribe uses for travel so his people stand there in astonishment. While they’ve seen ships like these in the past, they are a rare enough occurrence that they’ve stirred up quite the commotion amongst the Narragansett people. The men operating the ship are known to the Narragansett people as “Knife Men” because of the sharp objects they carry with them but today we’d refer to them as Europeans. More specifically they’re a group of Italians explorers led by Giovanni da Verrazzno. Verrazzanno’s been commissioned by the French government to explore the eastern coast of New England in search of the mythical northwest passage. As his ships make their way up the Bay they’re watched closely by both the Narragansetts to the west and the Pokanokets to the east, both wondering how long these visitors will stay for. When they eventually realize that Verrazano is only here for a short stay they begin to wonder if one of these knife men will ever stay for good and what life would be like if they chose to do so. It’s a question that most of them won’t live long enough to see answered but one that their future generations will become all too familiar with.

It’s March of 1621, almost one hundred years after Verrazzano visited Narragansett Bay and things have certainly changed. The number of Europeans visiting New England’s shores to trade with the natives has drastically increased and it’s proven to be devastating to the Pokanoket people. Their tribe is led by Osamequin, a man who is known as their Massasoit, or great leader. As Osamequin somberly walks through his tribe’s village on the shores of the Kickemuit River he thinks about the challenges his people have endured over the last several years. It started about 5 years ago in 1616 when rumors started to spread about how the tribes in present day Maine were being decimated by disease. Although the Europeans thought they were only trading goods with the natives they were also spreading a host of new diseases throughout their communities as well. With the natives not having any immunity to fend off these illnesses the disease spread like wildfire and was extremely deadly. It was so devastating to the tribes of eastern New England that the next few years quickly became known as the “Great Dying”. Every week proved to be worse than the last and it seemed as though the disease was about to kill everyone in its path. As the months passed, Osamequin heard that the illness made its way to the Massachusetts tribe to his north and the Sachem knew it was only a matter of time before his people were hit as well. His predictions were correct but he severely underestimated just how catastrophic the disease would be to his tribe. All of a sudden, people were growing deathly ill and entire families were being killed by the disease. Villages became so incapacitated with illness that there weren’t enough people to bury the dead and lifeless bodies could be seen openly lying on the ground. Every week things continued to get worse and by 1619 90% of his tribe had been killed, dwindling their population from about 12,000 to around 1,500. With these painful memories in his mind, Osamequin now has a new appreciation for the children he sees running around his village. They were born just as the disease was passing and have no idea how lucky they are to have avoided its deadly grasp. Osamequin himself is happy to have been spared. Although happy to be alive, the Sachem still has a problem he has to deal with. While the Pokanokets were hit hard by the Great Dying, the Narragansett people managed to avoid the disease completely, giving their biggest rivals a decisive power advantage. In fact, while the Pokanoket people were struggling to survive the 1616-1619 epidemic, the Narragansetts were growing even more powerful by deepening their trade relations with the Dutch in present day New York. Like other Europeans, the Dutch became heavily focused on acquiring beaver pelts from New England interior tribes so it allowed the Narragansetts to act as an intermediary between these two parties. Any tribe that wanted to trade with the Dutch were forced to make regular tribute payments to the Narragansetts’ head Sachems, Canonicus and his nephew, Miantonomi. This not only gave the Narragansett a new source of income but also added powerful tribes like the Eastern Nipmuc, Eastern Niantics and Manissean into their alliance network as well. Knowing that the Pokanokets were suffering from disease, the Narragansetts pushed them out of present day Providence. Because of these factors the Narragansetts now rule over most of present day Providence, Kent, and Washington County, Rhode Island along with Canonicut, Aquidneck, and Block Island as well. Their tribe's population has increased to 20,000 and they are THE most dominant power in all of southern New England, a fact that Osemequin is all too familiar with. As the Pokanoket Sachem continues to observe the children running around his village he knows it’s his responsibility to ensure they don't grow up in a world where they are at the mercy of their Narragansett rivals. His tribe has managed to develop their own tributary network after the epidemic but they are still no match for the Narragansetts. However, Osamequin has just come across an interesting opportunity as a new group of European visitors have been building a settlement on the eastern shores of New England in a place known to the natives as Patuxet. These newcomers are a radical group of protestants known as Separatist who came to America in search of religious freedom. Today, they’re more commonly referred to as the Pilgrims. Osamequin’s past experiences with European visitors were anything but pleasant so at first he was hesitant to approach them but he now believes that by teaming up with the colonists it could give him an opportunity to level the playing field with the Narragansetts. To accomplish this he’s sent a visiting Sachem who goes by Samoset to meet with the Pilgrims. As he looks towards the horizon, he sees Samoset returning from his diplomatic mission. Osamequin immediately makes his way towards him and asks how his meeting went. Samoset smiles, tells him that the meeting went well, and that they’d like to meet with him as well. This makes Osamequin uneasy as he knows how ruthless European visitors have been in the past. Eventually, another man by the name of Tisquantum, also known as Squanto, inserts himself into the conversation as well. Although Osamequin has always doubted Squanto’s intentions he knows that his advice is invaluable. Almost a decade earlier, Squanto was kidnapped by an English explorer and eventually went on to live in London for a while, giving him an opportunity to learn the English language and their customs. After some back and forth between the three men, they eventually agree that Osamequin should meet with the Pilgrims as soon as possible. Their decision will go on to significantly alter the balance of power between the Pokanoket and Narragansett tribes.

A few days later, on March 22nd 1621 , Osamequin meets with the Pilgrims at their settlement known as Plymouth and a treaty of alliance is signed between the two parties. As the Pokanoket Sachem predicted, their alliance with the Pilgrims increases his tribe’s power. By officially becoming allies with the English it further solidifies their position as the dominant tribe in present day eastern Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts and strengthens their tribute collecting powers. The trust between the Pokanoket people and the Pilgrims is further solidified in the fall of 1631 when Osamequin and a group of 90 Pokanoket warriors end up staying with the English colonists in Plymouth for 3 days while enjoying a large feast. Today, we know this event as the first Thanksgiving. When Canonicus and Miantonomi find out about the alliance they are not pleased. To illustrate just how dissatisfied they are with the treaty they send a bundle of arrows wrapped in snakeskin to the Pilgrims. But the Pilgrims refuse to back down from the threat so they respond by filling the snakeskin with gunpowder and returning it to the Narragansett Sachems. When Canonicus and Miantonomi choose not to respond to the threat it becomes clear that the playing field has been leveled. Then, in March of 1623, the Pokanoket’s new ally further assert their dominance in the region by viciously attacking and killing a handful of warriors in the Massachusetts tribe who are rumored to have been planning to attack them. Their response makes it clear to tribes throughout southern New England and even the powerful Narragansetts, that they or the English colonists are not to be messed with, giving the Pokanokets a new sense of respect as well. As the 1620s come to a close, the playing field between two rival tribes on opposite sides of Narragansett Bay has officially been leveled.

The Narragansett Sachem, Miantonomi, has just left the Mushassuck River in Present day providence and is making his way down the ancient dirt path that his people have used for generations. It’s known as the Pequot Path as it can be followed all the way to present day southeastern Connecticut, home of the Pequot Nation. On this summer day in 1633, Miantonomi is taking the path back to his tribe's village in Cocumscussoc. Today, one can still roughly travel along the same route as Miantonomi by following route 1 from Providence to Wickford. As the Sachem heads south he looks out towards the bay and sees the Englishman he’s just finished trading with paddling away on his canoe. His name is Roger Williams and he’s been trading with him for about a year now. His interactions with Williams have proven to be far more enjoyable than the meetings he’s had with other Englishmen. Instead of being purely transactional he’s noticed that the man is quite inquisitive about his people’s language and way of life. Miantonomi’s come to learn that Williams arrived in New England a couple of years ago and that he now lives in Plymouth. However, he originally moved to Massachusetts Bay Colony, a settlement that is quickly becoming a formidable power in New England. Since its founding just 3 years ago they’ve already seen 3,000 people migrate to their colony and although Miantonomi doesn’t know it yet by 1640, Massachusetts' population will grow to be over 8,000. Although never fully trusting the intentions of the English colonists, Miantonomi and Canonicus saw what happened to the Pokanoket’s strength when they joined forces with Plymouth so the Narragansetts have worked hard to develop a strong trading relationship with Massachusetts. The move has proven to be a wise strategic decision as the Narragansetts have grown even stronger over the past year or so. But life for the Narragansetts has also been quite difficult lately as the most recent epidemic has hit their tribe hard. As the Sachem continues to make his way down the Pequot Path he begins to pick up his pace, anxiously hoping to find out how his people have fared while he’s been away.

When Miantonomi makes it back to his tribe's village on the shores of Narragansett Bay he’s stopped by one of the tribe's powwow, a healer believed to have great spiritual powers. The man tells the Sachem that it’s not safe for him to enter the village and that he must keep away. When the Powwow steps away from Miantnomi and returns to the village he sees a community of people being ravished by the infectious disease that’s been invading villages throughout New England. The deadly illness is known as smallpox and its symptoms are not for the faint of heart. As the Powwow visits the sick he sees people laying in their huts shaking uncontrollable from the unbearably high fever. Their weakened bodies are full of the blisters, rashes, and sores that often leave those infected scared for life. As the powwow rolls one of the infected over to clean his sores the man’s skin sticks to the mat, creating a horrifically gory site. To make it worse, the Narragansetts have learned that the only way to protect themselves from the disease is by avoiding those who have been infected. Aside from the Narragansett healers, the sick are left to help the sick, leaving most utterly incapable of procuring enough resources to survive. Eventually, the powwow leaves the hut and sees that Miantonomi is still standing off in the distance. He shakes his head at his Sachem, telling him that it’s not looking good. Realizing that there’s nothing he can do, Miantonomi leaves the village in Cocumscussoc and heads towards another village that’s managed to avoid the deadly pox. As he walks away, his thoughts resemble the same thoughts his rival, Osamequin, had over 15 years ago when his tribe was ravished by their own epidemic. Miantonomi wonders just how long these horrific events will go on for and whether or not his people will survive.

Eventually, the Narragansetts go on to survive the smallpox outbreak and villages that were once ravished by the disease recover. But as the 1630s progress, the Narragansetts find themselves deeply embedded in an international market economy and their once well-rounded, self-sufficient lifestyle is beginning to change. European traders like the English colonists in Massachusetts and Plymouth are all too anxious to acquire furs from the natives in exchange for European goods. To increase trade even further, colonists begin using the once purely ceremonial wampumpeag beads, or as they call it wampum, as a form of currency. This naturally leads the Narragansetts to shift their efforts to where there is the most demand and they become hyper focused on procuring furs for trade and producing Wampum. Overtime, the Narragansetts are widely known as respected fur traders and the wampum mint masters of New England. As the years pass, they find themselves becoming even more specialized in these areas and it proves to be beneficial to their people. As the demand for fur and wampum continues to grow, so does the Narragansett’s tribe prestige in the region. But at the same time, this also makes the Narragansetts vulnerable as they are extremely reliant on the value of fur and wampum. If the demand for these resources were to fall then it would put the Narragansett tribe in a very difficult position. Thankfully, the 1630s are a boom economy for both of these resources so at the moment they have nothing to worry about. Then, in 1636, an interesting opportunity appears on their doorstep. Canonicus and Miantonomi find out that Roger Williams is in search of a new place to build a settlement. Although Williams has just been banned from Massachusetts they know that he’s still respected by people throughout their colony, perhaps most importantly their former Governor, John Winthrop. They know that Williams will be able to act as a link between their two societies, helping to strengthen their relationship with Massachusetts. With these benefits in mind, the Narragansett Sachems allow Williams to build a settlement on the eastern shores of the Maschassick River and the town of Providence is born. But shortly after Providence is founded, it becomes abundantly clear that a war between the Pequot tribe and the Massachusetts Bay Colony is about to break out. Once again, the Narragansetts see an opportunity to strengthen their relationship with Massachusetts so they pledge to fight alongside them. It’s in the midst of this war that we now know as the Pequot War, when the Narragansetts learn about just how ruthless Massachusetts can be to those who they feel threatened by. The Narragansetts learn this lesson when they witness the most brutal attack on another group of people that they’ve ever seen. This devastating event takes place at a Pequot fort in May of 1637.

Surrounding a large, well fortified Pequot Fort along the Mystic River are hundreds of English soldiers from Massachusetts and the newly founded Colony of Connecticut. About a month earlier, about 200 Pequot warriors attacked their settlement in Wethersfield so they’re anxious for payback. Standing beside them are their Mohegan and Narragansett allies. The 200 Narragansett warriors prepare themselves for the battle that’s about to ensure. Then, just as the sun began creeping over the horizon, the English soldiers launch a relentless attack on the Pequot fort. Almost immediately, the English soldiers attempt to penetrate the Pequot defenses but are repelled by the Pequot warriors. The English tell the Pequots to come out but they refuse, knowing that their best chance for survival lay inside of the fort. After a few minutes, one of the Narragansett warriors hears a man by the name of Captain John Mason of Connecticut shout to his men QUOTE “we must burn them” UNQUOTE. Although failing to understand most of the man’s English, the warrior is pretty sure he knows what the word “burn” means. Before long, his suspicions are confirmed when he witnesses Captain Mason begin setting fire to the west side of the fort. Shortly after that, Captain John Underhill from Massachusetts set fire to the south side of the fort. As the wind began to whip through the air the fire began to spread and eventually met in the middle. The Narragansett warrior stands there in awe, well aware that the fort is filled with women and children. The screams of men, women and children being burned alive and the smell of flesh burning disgusts the warrior. He can’t believe what he’s seeing. His people are all too familiar with war, in fact they’ve had their fair share of battles with the Pequots themselves but this is different, this is a massacre. The Narragansetts, like other tribes in southern New England, see war as an opportunity to intimidate their enemy and convince them to vacate a piece of land. The end goal being a favorable shift in power but certainly not the elimination of an entire community. With the fort fully engulfed in flames, the warrior begins lashing out at the English, screaming QUOTE “it is naught, it is naught…it is too furious and slays too many” UNQUOTE. Infuriated by the warriors' protests, a group of English soldiers surrounds the warrior in a threatening manner and eventually convinces him to back down. Following the battle, the warrior returns to his village on the shores of Narragansett Bay and begins spreading word of the horrific act committed by the English. Over the next few weeks news of the massacre spreads like wildfire throughout the tribes, they’re shocked by the brutality of the English colonists. Unfortunately, their tactics prove to be successful as the Pequot tribe is eventually destroyed and the English are victorious. By the time the war comes to an end, the English colonists have proven their military might to the natives and officially surpass the Narragansetts as the most dominant power in New England. However, the Narragansetts are still hopeful that they can use this shift in power dynamics to their benefit as well. Since they sided with the English during the Pequot War, the Narragansetts have been promised the right to expand their territory into Pequot country, land that we now know as southeastern Connecticut. This will increase their network of tributary tribes that will provide them with a new source of income and give them access to additional hunting and fishing grounds as well. To Canonicus and Miantonomi, the future of the Narragansett Nation is bright. But the Narragansetts are about to learn that the English are not always true to their word, especially when it comes at the expense of their own growth. They’re also about to find out that the English are developing a hunger for land that will eventually prove to be extremely detrimental to not only the Narragansetts but their Pokanoket rivals as well. As they both watch their way of life disappear and the land they’ve inhabited for thousands of years be handed over to the English, the tribes will eventually realize that they have more in common than they ever expected. Eventually, the two formidable forces will come together as one and take up arms against the English colonists, igniting one of the deadliest wars in American history. But that’s a story for next time, on part two of this two part bonus episode of the Story of Rhode Island Podcast.