1. The Indigenous people who met the pilgrims in Plymouth greeted them in EnglishÂ
It’s possible that the first encounter between the Wampanoag and the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony was an instance of first contact, but just for the Pilgrims. For many years, Native Americans along the Eastern Seaboard had interacted with Europeans. Since 1524, the Wampanoag had been engaging in trade and defending themselves from Europeans who occasionally kidnapped and sold Native Americans.
In 1614, Europeans enslaved a Wampanoag named Squanto from the Patuxet tribe, and because they kept him in England, he managed to learn the language as well. Unfortunately, when he was finally released five years later, he realized that his tribe had died because of the plague.
Apparently, Squanto wasn’t the only person with knowledge of Europeans because Samoset was one of them too. He was an Abenaki from modern-day Maine who lived with the Wampanoag close to Plymouth and acquired English proficiency as well, and that happened mainly because of his own personal experience of slavery or through trade with European fishermen.
Did you know this fact about American history?
3 Responses
They could have said what year the USA acquired Alaska.
Also, that Hawaii was annexed to the USA several years after the Hawaiian kingdom was overthrown by American citizens.
all of which is taught in schools… I learned that in the 1970s
Interesting