Massasoit

Massasoit
Ousamequin
Sculpture of Ousamequin in Mill Creek Park, Kansas City, Missouri by Cyrus E. Dallin
Wampanoag leader
Succeeded byWamsutta
Personal details
Born
Ousamequin

c. 1581
Died1661 (aged 80)
ChildrenWamsutta, Metacomet
1904 photo of Profile Rock in Assonet, Massachusetts; local Wampanoags believe it represents Massasoit.

Massasoit Sachem (/ˌmæsəˈsɔɪ(ɪ)t/)[1][2] or Ousamequin (c. 1581 – 1661)[3] was the sachem or leader of the Wampanoag confederacy. Massasoit means Great Sachem. Massasoit was not his name but a title. English colonists mistook Massasoit as his name and it stuck.[4]

Massasoit's people had been seriously weakened by a series of epidemics and were vulnerable to attacks by the Narragansetts, and he formed an alliance with the colonists at Plymouth Colony for defense against them. It was through his assistance that the Plymouth Colony avoided starvation during the early years.

  1. ^ "Massasoit". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  2. ^ "Massasoit Commercial - 30 Seconds". Massasoit Community College. February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  3. ^ "Native People" (page), "Massasoit (Ousamequin) Sachem" (section),MayflowerFamilies.com, web page:MFcom-Native Archived November 4, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Bicknell, p. 12

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