395 Years Ago This Week…
According to Mourt’s Relation, the Pilgrims were greated by Samoset, an Abenaki Native from present-day Maine on March 16, 1621. Edward Winslow wrote, “he saluted us in English, and bade us welcome,” and that he informed the Pilgrims that the place they were inhabiting was called “Patuxet”, which had been a Wampanoag village decimated by plague just four years prior. Samoset stayed with the Pilgrims that night in Stephen Hopkins’ home.
Samoset’s visit began a unique relationship between the European settlers and the indigenous people of the region. Samoset introduced the Pilgrims to Tisquantum, or Squanto, a Patuxet who was well-versed in the English language (find out why) and served as a translator and guide to the Pilgrims.
You can learn more about Squanto’s story at the “Our”Story: 400 Years of Wampanoag History Exhibit, currently open at the Adams Center in Kingston.
