Massacre At Mystic Comprehension Q's

           1. They were at an uneasy peace. Both groups had items the other wanted; the Pequots wanted axes, metal, English goods; the English wanted Wampum (shell beads) for trade with interior tribes. The two groups were never friends exactly, the killing of an Englishman gave the British an excuse to eliminate the pesky Pequot. The reason they were considered dangerous was because of the total difference in cultures.

2. The Pequot were the most populous and powerful group in the Connecticut River Valley. They controlled trade and were very wealthy. Pequots were politically dominant in comparison to the other tribes.

            3. The Puritans traveled to the new world to seek a place to practice their religion. They believed the Church of England was too close to Rome and too politically influenced. They wanted to have communities and a church that was wholly devoted to god.

            4. The Natives believed that land and property were there to be farmed in different seasons and traveling and coming back to the land was perfectly fine. The Wilderness was not something to be feared. For the Puritans the Wilderness must be tamed to be called property. The natives treated the women as equals, they had a say regarding politics, home life, and a standing in the community. The women worked the field and mainly controlled the food supply. In the Puritans view women were lower class citizens and were not to work in the fields. They kept house and had children. Warfare to the Pequot’s was a necessary thing, however, children and women were spared and it was necessary to “fight fairly”. The Puritans saw elimination as the goal; no real mercy was to be shown.

5. The Dutch ended up on more friendly terms with the Natives. The natural give and take between trading partners was established. They did not end up as a particularly powerful or very major player, such as France, in the new world. This is mainly due to the lack of land and lack of interest in acquiring or fighting with Britain and France for it. The British wanted land; the Natives already inhabited this land. So either the Natives were to give the land without resistance to the British or fight for it. The Native Americans chose to fight for it, thus establishing the relationship permanently.

6. The various religions of the British all saw the way the Natives lived as evil. This evil stemmed from the fact their entire culture was based on different beliefs, God as perceived by the British was unheard of. They worked with the forest as much as possible, moving “farms” from place to place each season.  The Brits thought the wilderness needed to be tamed and leashed. Both views were inherently different so it is hard to say which is correct. However the Natives existed in the Americas far before the Europeans and thus have first claim on the land.

7. Power is what both the Narragansett and Mohegan tribes were after. Both wanted a monopoly on trade, with this they could be the major power when dealing with the British or French. It does not surprise me that Natives fought against other Native groups. Any cultural group in the world has had at one war or wanted to be in a more powerful position. Europeans squabbled amongst each other, Africans warred with one another; why would it be different for Native Americans?

8. The Puritans and the Pequot were headed on a collision course no matter the original intentions. One group invaded the territory of another without permission or intentions to submit to the territory rulers. This makes nothing but a fight of some sort the only resolution as to who controls the property.

9. The newer generation of Pequot managed to prey upon the white man’s weakness: gambling, with a touch of booze thrown in. They constructed a casino on their reservation and continued to buy lands around the business with the profits. The hard work that went into saving themselves must have been tremendous. The builders must have felt relief at the success they were finding after years of a downward spiral.

10. The Treaty of Hartford was not a treaty in the traditional sense of agreement to cease fighting with mutual gain and loss. The British essentially stripped the Natives of any and all rights they may have had prior to the war. Their language, customs, and land were all outlawed. What little were left of the people became servants, if not worse.

11. The historians most likely used accounts from the British reports and Native records. They probably tried to stick with the facts from the British without any of the cover-up or excuses. If it were me I would attempt to attain public records of some sort; these usually contain solid facts with little fluffing. The Native accounts of the Massacre set the tone of the documentary and rightly so. They had the most to loose from the battles so when they lost, they failed memorably. Despite this slight bias the movie seemed very prolific with facts.

12. Before the massacre at Mystic the British were still attempting to ally themselves with the Natives in order to gain land and trading rights. After the slaughter, they decided that it would be alright to just take the land. After all, if they did it one time they could take it again. The whites would continue to take land and destroy Natives for 100 plus years.