Massasoit

Massasoit, also known as Ousamequin, was a sachem of the Pokanoket and a leading figure in the Wampanoag confederation. In 1621 he concluded an alliance with Plymouth Colony that helped the English settlement survive its early years.

The agreement brought periods of cooperation but also contributed to shifting regional power and expanding colonial settlement. After his death, worsening tensions under his son Metacom led to King Philip’s War.

Nathaniel Philbrick’s Mayflower treats Massasoit as the Wampanoag sachem whose alliance with Plymouth helps the struggling colony survive its first years, while the later deterioration of English-Wampanoag relations gives that agreement a tragic historical afterlife. Angela Hunt’s Rehoboth moves into the generation of King Philip’s War, using the memory of Massasoit’s earlier diplomacy as a contrast to the violence, missionary pressure and divided Indigenous communities experienced by his descendants.

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Massasoit (1 series)

The Keepers of the Ring in Order

by Angela Hunt 5 books 4.3(4,152)

The Keepers of the Ring is a multigenerational saga of English colonisation and Indigenous survival in North America. Beginning with Roanoke and continuing through Jamestown, the Pequot War, King Philip’s War and the growth of Charles Towne, the series follows a mixed family whose heirloom ring carries memory…