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King Philip's War: The New England Colonists And Indians

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From the Pilgrims encounters with Squanto to learning about Indians at reservations, our encounters with Indians haven’t always been friendly. Between Squanto and present day most meetings in the past were quite violent. The New England colonists and Indians encounters went from friendly to tense and dangerous with the introduction of European goods, new colonists, and war alliances. Only 55 years after the peaceful encounters in Plymouth, “the bloodiest and most bitter conflict occurred in Southern New England” (Foner 87). Colonists settling on Indian lands was becoming a problem and some Indians began to believe that settlers were wearing out their welcome. King Philip’s War led to Indians ransacking and burning around half of Massachusetts towns and killing around 1,000 colonists. However, colonists soon counterattacked and destroyed the Indian alliance. The outcome of “King Philip’s War produced a broadening of freedom for the white New Englanders by expanding their access to land” (Foner 87). …show more content…
In the mid 1670s the Covenant Chain helped strengthen the English Empire and the Five Iroquois Tribes. The Covenant Chain would help “assist [New York Governor] Andros in cleaning parts of New York of rival tribes and helped the British in attacks on the French and their Indian allies” (Foner 90-91). In a way the Covenant Chain, that was meant to protect, ignited violence and war. In the coming years the agreement would come to be known as one of the only peaceful sessions because the New York Governor Edmund Andros “recognized the Iroquois’ claim to authority over Indian communities in the vast area stretching to the Ohio River” (Foner

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