Day One

Welcome to my blog!

It’s hard to believe that I have finally gotten to this point. After more than six years of research I am now in a place to bring The Metacom Saga project to the attention to the public.

The Metacom Saga is a series that tells the true story, spanning some fifty years, of the King Philip’s War. It examines the relationship between two cultures with two very different ideologies and agendas. It is the story of how one side ultimately wished to expand at the expense of another. Not only is this expansion a threat, but a culture’s very identity, autonomy, and existence is at risk.

Events lead to what has been argued as being the bloodiest conflict per capita in American history. The King Philip’s War of 1675-1677(8) left virtually no one unaffected. At the war’s zenith Philip’s warriors were solidly winning. The natives put more than twenty communities to the torch. The English simply could not match the natives who knew the terrain, and fought with better tactics.

The English had to acknowledge that their idea of warfare was ineffective, put their differences aside and change their tactics. By the war’s end, the entire region felt repercussions that took decades to recover.

This project is not intended to assume any particular side. During my six years of research I have endeavored to read many sources to learn different versions that either collaborate or refute each other. In some cases, there are contemporary sources that overelaborate and self-promote themselves. Therefore, I had to rely upon other testimony from other sources who were there. Much of these resources were found in the form of letters and diaries.

One of my greatest goals is to dispel any myths about any characters or events. I will speak about this in future posts, but it has already been astutely discussed by author Jill Lepore, that at from the very start of the war, the English controlled the war’s narrative. They wrote about it in their sermons, their letters, and publications that were distributed in England and Europe. They described the enemy as being what they called, “hethen savages”! They demonized them. In their writings, the English blamed the War as punishment for their sin, and that that their victories were proof that their ‘A City On A Hill’ society was favored by God.

Most native Indians did not speak or read English. Their narrative was unheard. They were cast in the worst possible light. But we do have the benefit of having some of their narratives being passed down through the writings of some English who either were sympathetic to the native’s treatment, or the desire for historic documentation (i.e. military records, letters between officials, court records). The writings of Increase Mather and Roger Williams, both theologians at the time, are extremely valuable resources. Williams even wrote a publication that acted as a first effort to translate the Narragansett language. He was a proponent in peaceful interaction with the natives.

So, the reader is going to see sides of characters that are going to surprise them. There are going to be scenes that are going to be ugly. But, hey! Don’t shoot the messenger!

That’s history!