Weetamoo
Encyclopedia
Weetamoo also referred to as Weetamoe, was a Pocasset
Wampanoag Native American
noblewoman who was born in the Mattapoiset
village of the Pokanoket
and died at Taunton River
. Her father was Corbitant
, sachem of the Pocasset tribe in present day North Tiverton, Rhode Island, c. 1618–1630. She had five husbands, the most famous of whom was Wamsutta
, the eldest son of Massasoit
, grand sachem
of the Wampanoag and participant in the first Thanksgiving
with the Pilgrims. Her name means "Sweet Heart".
Eventually, the English defeated the Wampanoag in August 1676. Weetamoo drowned in the Taunton River trying to escape. Her dead body was mutilated, and her head was displayed on a pole in Taunton, MA, amidst much weeping by her warriors.
series entitled Weetamoo, Heart of the Pocasetts: Rhode Island-Massachusetts, 1653.
Weetamoo also appears in print in Mary Rowlandson
's The Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. Rowlandson, who was captured 1676 and held by Weetamoo's relative Quinnapin for three months, considered Weetamoo a "proud hussy" and often complained of her strict control, . She leaves a vivid description of Weetamoo's appearance as well as personality:
"A severe and proud dame she was, bestowing every day in dressing herself neat as much time as any of the gentry of the land: powdering her hair, and painting her face, going with necklaces, with jewels in her ears, and bracelets upon her hands. When she had dressed herself, her work was to make girdles of wampum and beads."
Pocasset
Pocasset may refer to a location in the United States:* Pocasset, Massachusetts* Pocasset, Oklahoma...
Wampanoag Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
noblewoman who was born in the Mattapoiset
Mattapoisett, Massachusetts
Mattapoisett is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,463 at the 2008 census.For geographic and demographic information on the village of Mattapoisett Center, please see the article Mattapoisett Center, Massachusetts....
village 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 died at Taunton River
Taunton River
The Taunton River , is a river in southeastern Massachusetts in the United States. It arises from the confluence of the Town River and Matfield River, in the town of Bridgewater...
. Her father was Corbitant
Corbitant
Corbitant was a Wampanoag Indian sachem or sagamore under Massasoit. Corbitant was sachem of the Pocasset tribe in present-day North Tiverton, Rhode Island, ca. 1618-1630....
, sachem of the Pocasset tribe in present day North Tiverton, Rhode Island, c. 1618–1630. She had five husbands, the most famous of whom was Wamsutta
Wamsutta
Wamsutta , also known as Alexander Pokanoket, as he was called by New England colonists, was the eldest son of Massasoit and a sachem of the Wampanoag native American tribe. His sale of Wampanoag lands to colonists other than those of the Plymouth Colony brought the Wampanoag considerable power,...
, the eldest son of 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:...
, 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...
of the Wampanoag and participant in the first Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
with the Pilgrims. Her name means "Sweet Heart".
Weetamoo's husbands
Weetamoo was married five times in a life filled with adventure and ultimately tragedy.- Winnepurket, sachem of Saugus, Massachusetts, was the first. He died shortly after their marriage.
- Wamsutta was second. After Massasoit died, Wamsutta became Chief of the Wampanoag. The tribe allied with the EnglishEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
against the NarragansettNarragansett (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...
, but the English broke this treaty. Wamsutta became sick and died during talks with the English. Believing that the English were somehow responsible for his death, Weetamoo and her brother-in-law, MetacometMetacometMetacomet , also known as King Philip or Metacom, or occasionally Pometacom, was a war chief or sachem of the Wampanoag Indians and their leader in King Philip's War, a widespread Native American uprising against English colonists in New England.-Biography:Metacomet was the second son of Massasoit...
— Wamsutta's younger brother and husband of Weetamoo's younger sister Wootonekanuske — attacked the English in June 1675. This began the conflict now known as King Philip's WarKing Philip's WarKing Philip's War, sometimes called Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, or Metacom's Rebellion, was an armed conflict between Native American inhabitants of present-day southern New England and English colonists and their Native American allies in 1675–76. The war is named after the main leader of the...
. . Weetamoo is speculated to have had one child with Wamsutta, although the date of birth and name are unknown.
- Quequequanachet was third. Little is known of him.
- Petonowit was fourth. At the beginning of King Phillip's war he sided with the English, prompting Weetamoo to leave their marriage.
- Quinnapin was last, grandson of powerful Narragansett sachem Canonicus. He was described as "a handsome warrior". This seemed to be a strong marriage. The pair had at least one child together, who died in 1676.
Eventually, the English defeated the Wampanoag in August 1676. Weetamoo drowned in the Taunton River trying to escape. Her dead body was mutilated, and her head was displayed on a pole in Taunton, MA, amidst much weeping by her warriors.
Weetamoo's legacy
Weetamoo's adolescent life was made into a children's historical novel in The Royal DiariesThe Royal Diaries
The Royal Diaries is a series of twenty books published by Scholastic Press from 1999 to 2005. In each of the books, a fictional diary of a real female figure of royalty as a child throughout world history was written by the author. The Royal Diaries was a spin-off of Scholastic's popular Dear...
series entitled Weetamoo, Heart of the Pocasetts: Rhode Island-Massachusetts, 1653.
Weetamoo also appears in print in Mary Rowlandson
Mary Rowlandson
Mary Rowlandson was a colonial American woman who was captured by Native Americans during King Philip's War and held for 11 weeks before being ransomed. After her release, she wrote a book about her experience, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and...
's The Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. Rowlandson, who was captured 1676 and held by Weetamoo's relative Quinnapin for three months, considered Weetamoo a "proud hussy" and often complained of her strict control, . She leaves a vivid description of Weetamoo's appearance as well as personality:
"A severe and proud dame she was, bestowing every day in dressing herself neat as much time as any of the gentry of the land: powdering her hair, and painting her face, going with necklaces, with jewels in her ears, and bracelets upon her hands. When she had dressed herself, her work was to make girdles of wampum and beads."