Corbitant was a Wampanoag Indian sachem or sagamore under Massasoit

Massasoit

Massasoit Sachem or Ousamequin ,was the sachem, or leader, of the Pokanoket, and "Massasoit" of the Wampanoag Confederacy. The term Massasoit means Great Sachem.-Early years:...

. Corbitant was sachem of the Pocasset

Pocasset

Pocasset may refer to a location in the United States:* Pocasset, Massachusetts* Pocasset, Oklahoma...

 tribe in present-day North Tiverton, Rhode Island, ca. 1618-1630.

In the summer of 1621, he was involved in a minor altercation with Plymouth colony

Plymouth Colony

Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...

 involving the Patuxet

Patuxet

The Patuxet are an extinct Native American tribe of the Wampanoag tribal confederation. They lived primarily in and around the area of what has since been settled as Plymouth, Massachusetts.-Devastation:...

 refugee Squanto

Squanto

Tisquantum was a Patuxet. He was the Native American who assisted the Pilgrims after their first winter in the New World and was integral to their survival. The Patuxet tribe was a tributary of the Wampanoag Confederacy.-Biography:Squanto's exact date of birth is unknown but many historians...

 at present-day Middleborough, Massachusetts

Middleborough, Massachusetts

Middleborough is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,117 as of 2008.For geographic and demographic information on the village of Middleborough Center, please see the article Middleborough Center, Massachusetts....

. Corbitant had menaced both Squanto and his companion Hobomok

Hobomok

Hobomok was a Native American who served as a guide, interpreter, and aide to the Pilgrims of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Like Tisquantom, better known as Squanto, Hobomok was essential to the survival and diplomatic success of the English in New England...

 for their close ties with the white strangers. Fearing for their lives, Hobomok was able to get away and escaped back to Plymouth, where he rallied the pilgrims under Miles Standish

Myles Standish

Myles Standish was an English military officer hired by the Pilgrims as military advisor for Plymouth Colony. One of the Mayflower passengers, Standish played a leading role in the administration and defense of Plymouth Colony from its inception...

. Standish led ten men of Plymouth in arms to rescue Squanto from Corbitant. They attacked the Wampanoag village at Nemasket, but by that time Corbitant had released Squanto and withdrawn from the area. Corbitant was nominally obedient to the Great Sachem Massasoit of the Pokanoket

Pokanoket

The Pokanoket tribe is the headship tribe of the many tribes that make up the Wampanoag Nation, which was at times referred to as the Pokanoket Nation or the Pokanoket Confederacy or known as the Pokanoket Country...

, and he was one of many Wampanoag sagamores who swore fealty to the English king some years later.

The prominent Wampanoag sachem lived at the site of present-day Bristol, Rhode Island

Bristol, Rhode Island

Bristol is a town in and the historic county seat of Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,954 at the 2010 census. Bristol, a deepwater seaport, is named after Bristol, England....

. Tribes of the Wampanoag federation possessed hunting grounds at Cape Cod

Cape Cod

Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...

, Plymouth, Taunton

Taunton, Massachusetts

Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County and the hub of the Greater Taunton Area. The city is located south of Boston, east of Providence, north of Fall River and west of Plymouth. The City of Taunton is situated on the Taunton River...

, Attleboro

Attleboro, Massachusetts

Attleboro is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States and is immediately north of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Once known as "The Jewelry Capital of the World" for its many jewelry manufacturers, Attleboro had a population of 42,068 at the 2000 census, and a population of 43,645 as of...

, Middleboro, Hanson

Hanson, Massachusetts

Hanson is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,495 at the 2000 census.-History:Hanson was first settled in 1632 as the western parish of Pembroke. The town was officially incorporated in 1820, and was named for Maryland newspaper publisher and U.S. Senator...

, Duxbury, Freetown

Freetown, Massachusetts

Freetown is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,870 at the 2010 census.Freetown is one of the oldest communities in the United States, having been settled by the Pilgrims and their descendants in the latter half of the 17th century. The town once included...

, Somerset

Somerset, Massachusetts

Somerset is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,234 at the 2000 census. It is the birthplace and hometown of Clifford Milburn Holland , the chief engineer and namesake of the Holland Tunnel in New York City....

, Swansea

Swansea, Massachusetts

Swansea is a town in Bristol County in southeastern Massachusetts.It is located at the mouth of the Taunton River, just west of Fall River, 47 miles south of Boston; and 12 miles southeast of Providence, Rhode Island....

, Mattapoisett, Wareham

Wareham, Massachusetts

Wareham is a town located in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 20,335, with an estimated 2008 population of 21,221....

, and Fall River

Fall River

-Cities and towns:In Canada:*Fall River, Nova ScotiaIn the United States:*Fall River, Kansas*Fall River, Massachusetts, the largest city with this name*Fall River, Tennessee*Fall River, Wisconsin*Fall River County, South Dakota-Rivers:In Canada:...

, in Massachusetts, as well as Tiverton, Aquidneck Island

Aquidneck Island

Aquidneck Island, located in the state of Rhode Island, is the largest island in Narragansett Bay. The island's official name is Rhode Island, and the common use of name "Aquidneck Island" helps distinguish the island from the state. The total land area is 97.9 km²...

 (Newport), Canonicut Island (Jamestown), Little Compton

Little Compton, Rhode Island

Little Compton is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. Its population was 3,492 at the time of the 2010 census. Little Compton is located in southeastern Rhode Island, between the Sakonnet River and the Massachusetts state border...

, Bristol

Bristol, Rhode Island

Bristol is a town in and the historic county seat of Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,954 at the 2010 census. Bristol, a deepwater seaport, is named after Bristol, England....

, Warren

Warren, Rhode Island

Warren is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 10,611 at the 2010 census.-History:Warren was the site of the Indian village of Sowams on the peninsula called Pokanoket , and was first explored by Europeans in 1621, by Edward Winslow and Stephen Hopkins...

 and the lands west to the Providence River

Providence River

thumb|The city of Providence as seen from the Providence River at its confluence with the Narragansett BayThe Providence River is a tidal river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 8 miles...

. About the year 1622 the Narragansett

Narragansett

Narragansett may refer to:*Narragansett , a Pennsylvania Railroad train*Narragansett , an Amtrak train*Narragansett **Narragansett land claim*Narragansett, Rhode Island, a town*Narragansett Bay*Narragansett...

 Federation under Canonicut seized the island of present-day Jamestown from Massasoit.