The Anglo-Pequot War, Part 2: Battle
This is Part Two of my series on the Anglo-Pequot War (1636-1637). As always, I tried to be as accurate as possible with my content. There are things left out, of course, but I tried to include everything I considered necessary. Sources are included in link below.
ON PRONUNCIATION My journey with Native American linguistics is still ongoing, and my pronunciation of certain words has changed from one video to the next (examples include: Sachem, Narragansett) as I learn. I will be using standardized pronunciations for consistency.
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Thank you so much again to my loyal and patient fans who are always waiting long periods of time for quality instead of quantity. Special thanks to members of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation who discussed their history and culture with me. And many thanks to my amazing wife for her support and her help with the female audio!
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me, and enjoy!
Please see bibliography link for all of my sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M...
Two interesting things I left out for time’s (and for gore) sake:
1. Cutshamoquin, the Massachusett sachem who also acted as interpreter for the Bay Colony (2:05), is of much importance in this story. He served as interpreter and soldier on Endecott’s expedition, and he is credited with the only confirmed Pequot kill during the village raids near Pequot Harbor which was the main catalyst for the war. He scalped his Pequot victim and sent it to Canonicus, who sent it among his tributaries to collect a wampum prize for Cutshamoquin. This act symbolized Massachusett power in allegiance with the English Massachusetts Bay Colony. For more on an amazing in-depth view of Algonquin politics and society in Southern New England during the war, check out “Manitou and Providence: Indians, Europeans, and the Making of New England, 1500-1643” by Neal Salisbury.
2. The death of Kiswas at Saybrook Fort was made very brief in my video. He is tied up, bleeding, taunts his captors, and is shot by Underhill. The full story is much more dramatic. Torture was customary in 17th-c. Algonquian culture, and the tortured were expected to stay strong and endure the pain. Kiswas was set up for such an ordeal: Uncas and his Mohegans tied one of his legs to a post and began burning him. He did well against the pain, taunting his captors through it all. They cut off pieces of his flesh before tying a rope to his free leg and pulling him to pieces. Underhill, as an act of mercy, shot Kiswas in the head. Writers later on would add acts of cannibalism to this event, but this is erroneous. None of the authors who were present for the torture wrote about the Mohegans eating Kiswas, and some of them certainly would’ve included it if it did happen! It is another example of racist authors creating “savages” to entertain their readers and dehumanize indigenous Americans. For more on the historical Uncas and the real Mohegans, check out “Uncas: First of the Mohegans” by Michael Leroy Oberg.