English-Indian Relations

DBQ #2 The relations between Indians and the English were variable. On one side of the spectrum, the Wampanoag and Puritans got along very well, even having the “first Thanksgiving”. On the other end, the Pequot War waged the Pequots against three English colonies. Both sides tried to assert their interests; the English used their advanced firearms to drive the Indians off their land, and also accidentally their Old World diseases helped their cause. The Indians used their knowledge of the land and agriculture to attempt to befriend the English, while when they fought they fought in collaboration with other tribes, mostly in guerilla warfare. Alas, the English diseases and weaponry utterly decimated the Indians, who were forced to move deeper and deeper inland. In the first contact between the English and Indians at Jamestown, the Indians attempted to ally with the English, but soon soured with bad governorship of the English. When John Rolfe arrived he began to help improve the relationship between the two cultures, acquiring more land for the English for crops like tobacco, which he made into an economically viable product. He improved the relations so much that he married Pocahontas, the daughter of the Powhatan chief. After he left the relations began to turn for the worse when the English began to want more and more land from the Powhatans. When the English landed at Plymouth, they were on their own for a short period of time, and didn’t fare very well, losing 45 people over the first winter. In the early spring, a Wampanoag tribesman named Samoset had the first formal contact with them. The Wampanoag were a very friendly group, and they had a member named Squanto, who had previously been a slave on an English ship, who was fluent in English. The Wampanoag really helped out the new settlers, teaching them their ways of agriculture and hunting. This assistance really helped the Puritans get on their feet and not get entirely wiped out from