Miantonomoh
Encyclopedia
Narragansett (tribe)
The Narragansett tribe are an Algonquian Native American tribe from Rhode Island. In 1983 they regained federal recognition as the Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island. In 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled against their request that the Department of Interior take land into trust...
of New England Indians, nephew of their grand sachem
Sachem
A sachem[p] or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquians or other northeast American tribes. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms from different Eastern Algonquian languages...
, Canonicus
Canonicus
Canonicus was a Native American chief of the Narragansett. He was a firm friend of English settlers.-Biography:...
(died 1647). He seems to have been friendly to the English colonists of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, though he was accused of being treacherous.
In 1636, when under suspicion, Miantonomoh went to Boston to prove his loyalty to the colonists. In the following year, during the Pequot War
Pequot War
The Pequot War was an armed conflict between 1634–1638 between the Pequot tribe against an alliance of the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies who were aided by their Native American allies . Hundreds were killed; hundreds more were captured and sold into slavery to the West Indies. ...
, he permitted John Mason
John Mason (c.1600-1672)
John Mason was an English Army Major who immigrated to New England in 1632. Within five years he had joined those moving west from the Massachusetts Bay Colony to the nascent settlements along the Connecticut River that would become the Connecticut Colony...
to lead his Connecticut expedition against the Pequot
Pequot
Pequot people are a tribe of Native Americans who, in the 17th century, inhabited much of what is now Connecticut. They were of the Algonquian language family. The Pequot War and Mystic massacre reduced the Pequot's sociopolitical influence in southern New England...
Indians through Narraganset country. The Pequot were defeated in this war. In 1638, he signed for the Narraganset the tripartite treaty between that tribe, the Connecticut colonists and the Mohegan
Mohegan
The Mohegan tribe is an Algonquian-speaking tribe that lives in the eastern upper Thames River valley of Connecticut. Mohegan translates to "People of the Wolf". At the time of European contact, the Mohegan and Pequot were one people, historically living in the lower Connecticut region...
Indians, which provided for a perpetual peace between the parties, and Miantonomoh was given control over eighty of the two hundred Pequot. However, conflict continued with the Mohegans over control of the Pequot people and land. Miantonomoh tried to organize other tribes throughout the English colonies in a union against the English.
Uncas
Uncas was a sachem of the Mohegan who through his alliance with the English colonists in New England against other Indian tribes made the Mohegan the leading regional Indian tribe in lower Connecticut.-Early life and family:...
, but instead Uncas turned him over to the Connecticut authorities at Hartford.
Miantonomoh was tried in Boston by the commissioners of the United Colonies of New England. A committee of five clergymen, to whom his case was referred, found him guilty. Although Miantonomoh had made war with their consent, they advised that he should be killed and gave Uncas authority to kill him. Miantonomoh was taken back to Norwich
Norwich, Connecticut
Regular steamship service between New York and Boston helped Norwich to prosper as a shipping center through the early part of the 20th century. During the Civil War, Norwich once again rallied and saw the growth of its textile, armaments, and specialty item manufacturing...
, where he had been defeated, and killed with a tomahawk by Wawequa, the brother of Uncas
Uncas
Uncas was a sachem of the Mohegan who through his alliance with the English colonists in New England against other Indian tribes made the Mohegan the leading regional Indian tribe in lower Connecticut.-Early life and family:...
.
Legacy
- Four ships in the United States NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
have been named for him, two as MiantonomohUSS MiantonomohUSS Miantonomoh may refer to:, was a monitor launched in 1863 and broken up in 1875, was a monitor launched in 1876 and decommissioned in 1907...
and two as MiantonomahUSS MiantonomahUSS Miantonomah may refer to:, a cargo ship, was commissioned in 1941 and sunk by enemy action in September 1944, an auxiliary minelayer, was commissioned in 1950 and decommissioned in 1955...
. - There is a monument to Miantonomo in Sachem's Park, Norwich, ConnecticutNorwich, ConnecticutRegular steamship service between New York and Boston helped Norwich to prosper as a shipping center through the early part of the 20th century. During the Civil War, Norwich once again rallied and saw the growth of its textile, armaments, and specialty item manufacturing...
. - Miantonomi Memorial ParkMiantonomi Memorial ParkMiantonomi Memorial Park is an historic park between Hillside Avenue and Girard Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island.The Narragansett Indians used the area around the park for hundreds of years and the park is named after Sachem, or Chief, Miantonomi...
in Newport, Rhode IslandNewport, Rhode IslandNewport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...