METACOM

also called Metacomet, King Philip, or Philip Of Pokanoket born c. 1638, , Massachusetts died Aug. 12, 1676, Rhode Island sachem (chief of a confederation of Algonkin tribes) of the Wampanoag Indians who led the most severe Indian war in New England history, known as King Philip's War (167576). Metacom was the second son of Massasoit, Wampanoag chief who had managed to keep peace with the Massachusetts and Rhode Island settlers for many decades. Upon Massasoit's death (1661) and that of his eldest son Wamsutta (English name Alexander) the following year, Metacom became chief of the tribe. He found it increasingly difficult to keep his pledge of continuing peace, however, primarily because of the ever-widening sale of Indian land to the English in exchange for guns, ammunition, liquor, and blankets. He was further embittered by the humiliations to which he and his people were continually subjected by the whites. He was, for example, summoned to Taunton in 1671 and required to sign a new peace agreement that included the surrender of Indian guns. Metacom's dignity and unbending spirit both impressed and frightened the settlers, and he came to symbolize the Indian menace that could not be controlled. For 13 years he kept the surrounding towns and villages on edge with the fear of an Indian uprising. Finally, in June 1675, violence erupted when three Wampanoag warriors were executed by Plymouth authorities for the murder of John Sassamon, a tribal informer. Aided by a coalition of the Narragansett, Abnaki, Nipmuck, and Mohawk tribes, the Wampanoag were at first victorious. After a year of savage fighting, however, during which considerable loss of life and property was sustained by both sides, the Indian alliance began to disintegrate, and food became scarce. Seeing that defeat was imminent, Metacom returned to his ancestral home at Mount Hope, where he was betrayed by an informer and killed in a final battle. He was beheaded and quartered and his head displayed on a pole for 25 years at Plymouth.