The Effects of King Philip’s War on New England Native Americans

Abenaki Life Before Colonization

• Descendants of the Paleo-Indians that arrived in the Champlain Valley over 11,000 years ago
• Approximately 10,000 western Abenaki inhabited Vermont and New Hampshire at the time of the arrival of the pilgrims in 1620.

• In the 1670s, 50 years of peace between the Plymouth colony and the Wampanoag Indians deteriorated
• King Philip (Metacom) responded to the execution of 3 Wampanoag by ordering a raid on Swansee

Immediate Consequences of the War

• An ecological disaster for the Abenaki
• Increased anti-Indian sentiment

The “Great Dispersals”

• The war led to social fragmentation and the relocation of New England native Americans
• Many tribes began to live alongside other tribes