In 1675, war broke out in Rhode Island when Native people fired on a handful of colonists, killing a young English man. Or so goes the story. If you're one of the relatively few people in the US who have heard of King Phillip's War, this is probably all you know. Or perhaps your Massachusetts […]
Is King Philip’s War really part of the past? Four Indigenous speakers tell us that it’s still deeply present. People who are not Indigenous often think of Metacom’s Resistance – more commonly known as King Philip’s War – if they know of it - as part of a distant past. If we have read children’s […]
One of the lesser-known aspects of the War for New England (King Philip’s War) was the intentional campaign to enslave Native peoples. The war unleashed multiple attempts to capture and force into servitude Indigenous men, women, and children alike. This included Native men who armed themselves to defend their homelands, but it also included non-combatants, […]
Whose story predominates? Ever since its publication in 1682 as The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, Mary Rowlandson's captivity narrative - with its harrowing account of capture, flight and detention as well as the death of her child - has shaped the mainstream understanding of King Philip's War. In this view, cruel and savage Native people […]
Why don't we know about King Philip's War? Because, says Tricia Peone, historians from Increase Mather to Edward Everett wrote the histories Why don’t most of us know much, if anything, about King Phillip’s War? Tricia Peone, project director of the Congregational Library's New England's Hidden Histories project, looks at legacy and memory in the […]
Join the Cumberland Public Library for a special presentation on the history of King Philip's War with Marilyn Harris, a researcher and docent at Smith's Castle in North Kingstown.
This monument to Captain William Turner sums up an old and perhaps familiar telling of history. We have a colonial hero, later slain in battle. Small but mighty colonial forces overcome the odds. Apparently passive "Indians" are taken by surprise. Nameless Native people are "destroyed." How accurate is this picture of history? Not very, according […]
Join a panel of Indigenous speakers in asking: how do we reckon with the legacy of King Philip's War today? As the final event in our series Metacom’s Resistance, this Indigenous panel asks: how do we reckon with this history today? What is due to the people of the Eastern Woodlands? Join us at the main Boston […]
Historic Deerfield, with support from partner organizations, is hosting a one-day conference next year to commemorate the 350th anniversary of King Philip’s War/Metacom’s Rebellion, with the goals of helping a broad audience learn more about the causes, course, and effects of the conflict, as well as fostering additional discussions and further research. We invite proposals […]
In honor of Indigenous People's Day, join us for a K-12 teacher workshop on the history and legacy of the War for the Dawnland (also known as King Philip's War). This workshop will be led by MHS Educaiton and Brad Lopes, Aquinnah Wampanoag scholar and Director of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Education Department. Together, we will explore […]