Question

How might a Wampanoag historians versions of events differ from Bradford

Answer 1

Much of what is known about early Wampanoag history comes from archaeological evidence, the Wampanoag oral tradition (much of which has been lost), and documents created by seventeenth-century English colonists. The Wampanoag people have lived in southeastern New England for thousands of years. In 1600 there were as many as 12,000 Wampanoag who lived in forty villages. Both oral tradition and archaeological evidence suggests that Native peoples lived in the area for 10,000 years. Wampanoag means “People of the Dawn” in the Algonquian language. There were sixty-seven tribes and bands of the Wampanoag Nation. Three epidemics swept across New England between 1614 and 1620, killing many Native peoples. Some villages were entirely wiped out (such as Patuxet). When the colonists we now call Pilgrims arrived in 1620, there were fewer than 2,000 Wampanoag. After English colonists settled in Massachusetts, epidemics continued to reduce the Wampanoag to 1,000 by 1675. Only 400 survived King Philip’s War. Today there are 3,000 Wampanoag who are organized in five groups: Assonet, Gay Head, Herring Pond, Mashpee, and Namasket. EUROPEAN COLONISTS

Answer 2

History viewed from a Wampanoag perspective would view events from the Native American's side of things, where the account of William Bradford would see things through the eyes of the settlers who came from England to establish Plymouth Colony.

William Bradford, governor of Plymouth Colony, provided his version of events in his journal, titled, Of Plymouth Plantation.  As an example, we can look at Bradford's account regarding what we think of as "the first Thanksgiving" in America.  Bradford focused on the gratitude of the pilgrims after surviving a harsh winter and the loss of many lives, to enjoy their first harvest season in the New World.  The 53 English settlers  at the first Thanksgiving were those of an original group of 102 pilgrims who had survived the Mayflower's journey from Europe to America, and the difficulties of disease and winter that followed.   These settlers were deeply religious people who believed their move to Plymouth Colony was all part of God's plan.

The Wampanoag were an existing nation of dozens of villages throughout the region that today we call Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  When Europeans arrived, germs previously unknown on this continent arrived with them, and the Wampanoag suffered much from disease also -- at a time when their people already had been enduring difficult times.  They were a people who believed in maintaining a relationship with the land and nature. They had long had their own habits of thanksgiving observances to show their gratitude for what nature provided to them.  When the Europeans arrived, the Wampanoag proposed to help provide the settlers with food in exchange for the advanced weapons the Englishmen had.  The peaceful image of a Thanksgiving shared between the English and the Wampanoag was a rare moment of peaceful coexistence between native peoples and European settlers.

As historians, we always want to consider all perspectives on a topic.  Any persons undertaking to write about history are themselves embedded in their own time periods and cultures.  Those cultural perspectives influence their understanding and interpretation of the events they experience or write about.