Sassacus

Sassacus (* around 1560 ; † June 1637 ) was a sachem of the Pequot , an Indian tribe in what is now the US state of Connecticut . He was the son and successor of Sachem Wopigwooit, who was the first chief of the tribe to make contact with the white colonists and was killed by the Dutch near Hartford around 1632 .

After Sachem Wopigwooit's death, both Sassacus and his rival Uncas wanted to succeed him. The dominion of the Pequot at this time stretched from Narragansett Bay in the east to the Hudson River in the west and encompassed most of Long Island in the south . The tribal council's decision fell on Sassacus, and although Uncas was married to Sassacus' daughter, he did not accept that decision. The Pequot then split into two parties, one of which favored the Dutch and the other the English colonists. As a result, there were attacks on Dutch or English fur traders when they encountered the wrong Pequot group. Uncas refused allegiance to Sassacus and eventually left the Pequot villages with 50 warriors and their families. They settled in a new village on the Connecticut River north of what is now Lyme and now called themselves Mohegan . Uncas managed to enlarge his group with the addition of neighboring small tribes to such an extent that Sassacus could no longer force them to return.

In 1634 an incident occurred when the Boston captain and trader John Stone, known as a slave hunter, was killed by Western Niantic while attempting to capture Indian women and children as slaves . His death caused outrage among the colonists. Since the Niantic were allies of the Pequot, Sassacus set out for reconciliation talks. The Puritans, however, did not allow themselves to be appeased by furs and wampum, but demanded the extradition of the guilty. No agreement was reached, Sassacus and the Puritans parted in anger. In the summer of 1635, the new English Fort Saybrook was built at the mouth of the Connecticut River and the Dutch had to close their trading post at Hartford because they no longer had access to Long Island Sound . With this the Pequot lost their Dutch trading partner.

Attack of the English colonists in May 1637 on the Pequot Fort on the Mystic River

The following winter, the Pequot asked the Mohegan and Narraganset for assistance in an impending war against the British; Both tribes, however, not only rejected, but sided with the British colonists. Sassacus then decided to wage the war alone. In April 1637, he launched a retaliatory attack on Wethersfield and Hartford, killing 30 colonists. On May 1, 1637, the leadership of the Connecticut Colony declared the offensive war against the Pequot. Despite the differences that existed, many Mohegan were unwilling to fight their Pequot relatives. Uncas left most of his supporters to protect the villages and moved to Hartford with only 70 of his most loyal warriors to reinforce the 90-man colonial force under John Mason . It was planned to destroy the heavily fortified Pequot Fort on the Mystic River . The small army was loaded into boats and drove down the Connecticut River to Fort Saybrook, where more troops were picked up. Then the path led along the coast to the vicinity of Mystic, a large, fortified village of the Pequot on the river of the same name.

On May 25, 1637, John Mason had the Pequot fort surrounded and set on fire. Afterwards, his troops invaded the burning village and caused a bloodbath that would later become known as the Mystic Massacre . Most of the 700 or so residents tried to flee, were driven back into the flames and over 500 of them died a painful death. Captain Mason, who was to exterminate the Pequot according to orders, pursued the fled Indians with his command, killed them or put them in chains. The news of this massacre reached the other Pequot villages in no time at all, which then fled west in small groups. Sassacus fled west with a group along the Connecticut coast and tried to reach the Mohawk villages. With the help of Uncas and his Mohegan scouts, the British took up the chase and discovered the wanted Pequot near present-day Fairfield . The Pequot were surrounded in a swamp, but refused to give up without a fight. The women and children were then allowed to leave the swamp. In the ensuing battle, 180 Pequot were killed or captured. Sassacus fled with the survivors to the Mohawk in what is now New York State. Fearing retaliation from the British, they killed Sassacus in June 1637 and sent his head to Hartford , the capital of the young colony of Connecticut, as a token of loyalty . The location near Guilford in which this happened is called "Sachem's Head" (dt. Today head of the Sachem ).

The Pequot War ended in a series of minor skirmishes in which the English, Mohegan and Narraganset took down most of the Pequot. Eventually the remaining Pequot surrendered and asked for peace for their defeated people.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mohegan. Retrieved September 7, 2016 . 
2. ^ Pequot. Retrieved September 7, 2016 . 
3. ↑ Sassacus. Retrieved September 7, 2016 .