I just finished reading “Mayflower: Voyage, Community, War,” Nathaniel Philbrick’s account of how the Pilgrims and other English peoples left Europe and came to what is now known as “New England” and how they interacted with the native Americans who already called that area home. The book devotes much attention to the relationship between the Europeans and the Native Americans, showing how they competed for resources, how they learned about each other’s culture and ways, and, ultimately, how they came into conflict through King Philip’s War--a war that divided the Native Americans into pro- and anti-English factions and, ultimately, contributed greatly to the decline of the Native American population in New England.
It also documents some disturbing actions, especially in light of the long tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving as a coming together of English and Native American communities. I was amazed to learn, for instance, that the English sold captured Native American fighters into slavery. Beyond that, the war resulted in a huge loss of Native American population in the area. As Philbrick writes, “The fourteen bloody months between June 1675 and August 1676 had a last, disturbing impact. On the development of New England and, with it, all of America. . . . And yet we must look with something more than cynicism at a people who maintained more than half a century of peace with their Native neighbors. The great mystery of this story is how America emerged from the terrible darkness of King Philip’s War to become the United States” (Mayflower p. 357).
Given the political extremism that is currently flooding the United States as we prepare for a historic election, we should all take a fresh look at a our history to better understand how we got here and what we need to value as we continue to evolve as a society. I highly recommend Mayflower as a starting point.
Philbrick, Nathanial. Mayflower: Voyage, Community, War. Penguin Books, 2007.
