Native nations and colonists: trade, alliances, land and conflict

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Plymouth and the Wampanoag, 1621 to 1675 (cards A to E). Card A, Mourt's Relation (London, 1622), by the Plymouth colonists William Bradford and Edward Winslow, soon after the meeting with Ousamequin in spring 1621 (a modern edition with modern spelling; cuts marked): "4. If any did unjustly war against him, we would aid him; if any did war against us, he should aid us. … Lastly, that doing thus, King James would esteem of him as his friend and ally." Card B, William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation, written years later and printed by the Pilgrim Hall Museum: "… (which hath now continued this 24 years) …" Its six terms include "4. That if any did unjustly war against him, they would aid him; and if any did war against them, he should aid them." The six terms the museum prints have no clause about King James. Card C, a summary in our words from the Plimoth Patuxet museum: Wampanoag people of the 1600s understood alliances as spoken agreements kept alive by regular renewals with gifts. Ousamequin had authority to make agreements only for his own community of Pokanoket, so the English had to make separate agreements with other groups. Neither leader spoke the other's language, so they talked through interpreters, and the original written treaty does not survive. Card D, a summary in our words from the National Park Service: before the Pilgrims settled, other English visitors had spread disease to the Wampanoag, causing widespread death. With the Wampanoag weakened, the Narragansett tried to take over Wampanoag land. When the Pilgrims arrived, Massasoit (Ousamequin; the word means Great Sachem) sought an alliance, which brought peace and support in defending Wampanoag land from the Narragansett. Card E, a summary in our words from the National Park Service and the Pilgrim Hall Museum: Ousamequin's death came by 1661, and his son Wamsutta led the Wampanoag. Wamsutta's death in 1662 came in circumstances the National Park Service calls mysterious, and his brother Metacom (King Philip to the English) became leader. By the 1670s English purchases of Native land and a series of hostile incidents led to King Philip's War, which began in June 1675.

2. 1.

   Card A was written by two Plymouth colonists and printed in London. What is it best evidence for, Ari asks?

   • How the English side recorded the terms it said were agreed
   • Why a war broke out between the two sides in 1675
   • What Ousamequin told his own people about the alliance later
   • The exact words both leaders spoke, in both languages
3. 2.

   Card B says the peace "hath now continued this 24 years." About when did Bradford write it, and why does that matter, Bo asks?

   • About 1645, so it is the better source because the peace had proved itself
   • About 1621, so it is as close to the event as card A
   • About 1597, long before the meeting that card A records
   • About 1645, a later memory that is further from the event than card A
4. 3.

   Card A ends with a clause about King James. What does it show about how the English writers pictured the alliance, Esme asks?

   • Ousamequin accepted English rule over the Wampanoag
   • The Wampanoag understood the alliance in the same way
   • They placed Ousamequin in their own world of kings, as King James's ally
   • King James himself agreed to the terms through a messenger at the meeting
5. 4.

   A student writes: "The alliance was a written treaty that both sides signed." How strong is that claim, given cards A to C, Jun asks?

   • Strong: card B lists the terms again years later
   • Weak: card D says the English wrote nothing down
   • Weak: card C says the written treaty is lost and agreements were spoken
   • Strong: card A prints the numbered terms as the English recorded them in full
6. 5.

   A student writes: "Ousamequin sought the alliance because the Wampanoag were strong enough to need no help." How strong is that claim, given cards A to D, Kira asks?

   • Weak: card C says he had no power to decide anything for the Pokanoket people
   • Strong: card A says he would aid the English if they were attacked, so he needed no help
   • Strong: card D says the alliance brought peace for decades, so he did not need any help
   • Weak: card D says disease weakened the Wampanoag and the Narragansett threatened them
7. 6.

   Card E says war began in June 1675. Which explanation does the card support, Milo asks?

   • A Narragansett attack on Plymouth began the war in June 1675 after years of peace
   • Wamsutta's death in 1662 settles that the English caused the war that began later
   • The alliance ended with Ousamequin's death, which started the war in the same year
   • Strains grew over years: English land purchases, hostile incidents and new leaders
8. 7.

   How do card A and card C differ on what makes an alliance, Pia asks?

   • The Wampanoag wanted a written treaty with terms, and the English refused to write one
   • Both sides understood the alliance in the same way, as a written treaty under King James
   • Card A lists written terms; card C says Wampanoag alliances were spoken and renewed
   • The English cared about the alliance, and the Wampanoag did not care about keeping it
9. 8.

   Comparing cards D and E, what changed between 1621 and the 1670s, Ren asks?

   • It began when the Wampanoag needed a partner and was strained by land purchases by the 1670s
   • Nothing changed until war ended the alliance in 1675
   • The Narragansett joined Plymouth against the Wampanoag
   • The Wampanoag grew stronger than Plymouth and ended the alliance because it no longer helped them
10. 9.

    Card C is a modern museum's summary. What can it add that card A cannot, Tala asks?

    • Proof that card A's terms are false
    • A Wampanoag record written in 1621
    • How Wampanoag people understood alliances, which the English text leaves out
    • The exact words Ousamequin spoke to the English governor in the spring of 1621
11. 10.

    What new evidence would best show whether both sides understood the 1621 terms the same way, Zee asks?

    • Another English printing of Mourt's Relation, to check its wording against itself
    • A map of Plymouth Colony in 1621
    • An account of King Philip's War
    • A Wampanoag account of the alliance, to set beside the English text