“Welcome, Englishmen!” The Pilgrims had had been building houses and establishing defenses for Plymouth for three months before Samoset, an Abenaki sagamore representing the Wampanoag chief Massasoit, marched boldly into town. Until that moment, they had seen a few Indians watching them, but had made no contact. Now, Massasoit had to decide whether to seek a treaty with the Englishmen, or to fight them.

Along the way we reconnect with Tisquantum, and tell one of the most famous stories in early English-American history with, of course, a couple of twists.

Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2

Facebook: The History of the Americans Podcast

Errata: Oops, at one point I said “ancestors” once when I meant “descendants.” You’ll figure it out…

Selected references for this episode

Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower: Voyage, Community, War

John G. Turner, They Knew They Were Pilgrims: Plymouth Colony and the Contest for American Liberty

William Bradford and Edmund Winslow (presumed), Mourt’s Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth

Jonathan Mack, A Stranger Among Saints: Stephen Hopkins, The Man Who Survived Jamestown And Saved Plymouth

Caleb H. Johnson, The Mayflower and her Passengers

Lynn Ceci, “Fish Fertilizer: A Native North American Practice?”, Science, April 4, 1975.

The Charter of New England

The Three Sisters (agriculture)