Mohegan
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| Mohegan | |
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| Total population | 1,700 (2005) |
| Regions with significant populations | United States (s.e. Connecticut) |
| Language | historically Mohegan, now English |
| Religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | other Algonquians |
The Mohegan (Mu-he-con-neok—people of the region where the waters are never quiet—also River Indians, Seaside People or Upland Indians) are an Algonquian tribe, whose Pequot dialect is one branch of the Eastern Algonquian languages which also includes Mahican, Massachusett, and Naragansett. Many are familiar with Fenimore Cooper's 1826 novel The Last of the Mohicans which however most likely refers to the Mahicans (which in Cooper's time was known as the Mohicans), a tribe living about 100 miles from the Mohegans.
At the time of the first European immigration into New England in the early 17th Century both the Mohegans and the Pequots were led by the Pequot sachem Sassacus. Later, however the Mohegan sachem Uncas revolted and reached independence. After the annhihilation of the Pequot in 1637 by the English, most surviving Pequot, as well as their former lands came under the control of the Mohegan.
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[edit] Settlement area
Despite the popular belief that the Mohegan-Pequot are a group from the Hudson Valley south of Lake Champlain that had formerly been invaded in the eastern part of Connecticut, there is good linguistic and archaeological evidence supporting a long presence in the upper Thames River area of Connecticut. The Mohegan called thier homeland Moheganeak and inhabited the upper and western areas of the Thames valley, while the Pequot lived further south, nearer the coast.
[edit] Population
The population of the Mohegan and Pequot tribes together numbered about 6,000 in 1620. The separation of the two tribes took place after 1633. A smallpox epidemic in the winter of 1634/35 reduced both groups by at least 30 per cent. After Pequot war of 1637 both groups were reunited by force and thus about 1,500 Pequot and Niantic came under the control of the Mohegan, which together numbered about 3,000 tribal members. A second smallpox epidemic disease in the year 1639 reduced their number to 2,500. The Pequot were brought to a separate reservation in 1655 by the English and thereafter were sometimes counted as Mohegan, sometimes not.
Despite the inclusion of members of the Mattabesic, the Nipmuck, and the Narragansett, the number of the Mohegan continued to drop. The main reasons were European diseases, in particular smallpox, which plagued them regularly in 1649, 1662, 1670, 1677, 1687, 1729 and 1755. Other diseases of the native inhabitants of Connecticut were flu (1647, 1675), diphtheria (1659) and measles (1687). Although the Mohegan were seen as allies of the colonists, one can imagine that they were also infected faster because of their close contact with white people. Around 1675 there were less than 1,200 Mohegan and 30 years later (1705) only 750.
In the following years some groups split off from the main tribe, in particular 300 Mohegans who left Connecticut between 1775 and 1788 along with the Brotherton Indians and joined the Oneida and Stockbridge Indians in the northern part of New York state. The Brotherton, Oneida and Stockbridge sold their New York land starting in 1822 and by around 1834 were to be found in northern Wisconsin. Today there are descendants of the Stockbridge Mohegan in Wisconsin west of Green Bay and of the Brotherton east of Lake Winnebago, which are however not yet federally recognized tribes.
After the departure of these groups, by 1774 only 206 Mohegan were left in Connecticut, and by 1809 only 70. In the year 1832 this number had grown again to 360, probably by immigration from other tribes. The census of 1850 showed 125 Mohegan in Connecticut, most living among the white population. In 1994 the Mohegans received recognition under the name The Mohegan Tribe by the State of Connecticut.
| Year | Number | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1600 | 2,200 | estimated | James Mooney |
| 1643 | 2,250 | John R. Swanton | |
| 1700 | 1,000 | calculated | NAHDB* |
| 1705 | 750 | John R. Swanton | |
| 1774 | 206 | John R. Swanton | |
| 1800 | 100 | calculated | NAHDB* |
| 1804 | 84 | John R. Swanton | |
| 1809 | 69 | John R. Swanton | |
| 1900 | 50 | calculated | NAHDB* |
| 1910 | 22 | Census | |
| 1970 | 200 | Census | |
| 2000 | 800 | calculated | NAHDB* |
| 2005 | 1,000 | The Mohegan Tribe (registered members) |
*Native American Historical Data Base
[edit] Name
Mohegan meant wolf in the Mohegan language and corresponds to the tribal name of the Mahican, however it refers to two different tribes. This commonly results in mix-ups, though the Mohegan lived in the Thames River area of eastern Connecticut while the Mahicans lived in the Hudson River Valley in New York about 100 miles away.
Even James Fenimore Cooper confused some facts when writing Last of the Mohicans in 1826. Given that Cooper's novel was set in the upper Hudson Valley not far away from his residence in Cooperstown in upstate New York, one can assume he was writing about the Mahicans. But he chose the spelling Mohican and the Mohegan sachem Uncas played a chief role, both of which contributed to the confusion.
Other factors contributed as well: the Mohegan was the largest subgroup among the Brotherton tribe in Connecticut. After they had joined the Oneidas in 1788 at their reservation in northern New York, they intermingled with the Stockbridge of western Massachusetts, which were predominantly Mohican. Because of this, the Stockbridge Tribe probably consists of descendants of both the Mohican and the Mohegan.
Synonyms: Monhigg, Mohiggan, Monahegan and Uncas.
[edit] Language
The Mohegan language was a dialect of the same language spoken by the Pequot and the Montauk, an Eastern Algonquian language. The last speaker of the Mohegan language was Mohegan elder Fidelia Fielding, who died in 1908.
There is no phonemic analysis of southern New England languages, none of which is spoken any longer. Words and names in these languages follow standard English orthography.
Many reports from the 17th century confirm that any of these languages could be understood by speakers of any of the others. This applies particularly along the coast, where speakers had some experience with other languages. Other early reports emphatically claim serious linguistic differences, including difficulties that inhabitants of Martha's Vineyard had in communicating with those on Nantucket and the nearby mainland of Massachusetts.
[edit] Daily life
Finds from Mohegan archaeological exacavations in Connecticut indicate that deer provided almost 90 per cent of the meat requirements in the early 17th Century. The deer hunt seems to have been the principal activity of men in the autumn and early winter. Deer were caught with traps or nooses.
According to reports, in eastern Connecticut and in the Narragansett lands community hunts took place. In the Narragansett territory sometimes two to three hundred people were involved.
Starting with Giovanni da Verrazzano there are relatively complete descriptions of the Indian cultivation of crops. Early explorers were all impressed by the extent of cultivation. In 1606 Samuel de Champlain noted that the Indians continually prepared new fields, possibly an indication of the increasing importance of maize cultivation. Typical of "Three Sisters" cultivation, not only maize, but also beans and squash were cultivated; and artichoke and tobacco as well.
Groups of 50 or more men and women prepared the fields for planting. Trees were cut off at three feet above the soil, the branches and trunks burned and the seed sown between the stumps.
Champlain observed the planting of a field on the banks of the Saco River in July 1605 [1]:
They till and cultivate the soil, something which we had not seen done before. Instead of ploughs, they have an instrument of very hard wood, shaped like a spade. The inhabitants of this country call this river Choüacoet. [Chouacoit, modern Saco]
I went ashore to observe their tillage on the bank of the river. We saw their Indian corn, which they raise in gardens. Planting three or four grains in a place, then heaping up a quanity of earth with the shells of the signoc [horseshoe crab] on them, then planting again as much as three feet off, and so on. Among the corn in each hill they plant three or four Brazilian beans [kidney bean], which are of various colors. When they are grown they intertwine among this corn which grows five or xis feet high, and keep the field very free from weeds. We saw there many squashes and pumpkins and some tobacco which they also cultivate.
Planting, working on and harvesting were usually women's work, although old or young men may have helped their wives out of sympathy. The only exception was tobacco, which was cultivated only by the men. No data are available on yield per person or the relative importance of cultivation versus gathering of wild plants in their diet. Dried corn was heaped into woven bags or baskets and buried in large holes or ditches for consumption in autumn and winter. The first Pilgrims in Cape Cod found such stores and appropriated them for their own purposes.
[edit] Appearance
For a head decoration the warriors carried a kind of comb made out of porcupine hair, which extended from the hairline down to the neck. In winter they were dressed in furs, in the warm season they carried they only leather loincloths. After the contact with the Europeans this garb was gradually replaced by European articles of clothing and uniforms.
[edit] Tools and weapons
A lifestyle that required frequent changes of residence and the lack of a simple overland transport method did not facilitate ownership of a lot of cumbersome tools. The Mohegan depended on multi-purpose tools which could easily be produced on the spot and then left behind after use. Things which took longer to make had to be as light as possible. Exceptions from this rule, such as large ceramic jugs and heavy wooden mortars, were usually left behind in the encampment or village, in order to be available next time around, when they came back in the course of their normal migration cycle.
The bow and arrow was the basic weapon, and was used both for hunting and for war. Bows were made from hazelnut from the Cape Cod region. They were five to six feet long, painted black and yellow, and stringed with 3 sinews twisted together. Arrows were approximately three feet long, and had three long black feathers attached. Arrows were carried in quivers made of cane which were adorned in rhomboid patterns in red and other colors. Mohegan living in eastern Massachusetts had arrows made of elder, which had a fitted, removable tip which could be attached to the main arrow shaft, so that the shaft could be retrieved and reused, while the tip was left stuck in the game.
Arrowheads were made from stone, horn, eagle teeth, bones, horseshoe crab tails, or the shafts themselves were simply sharpened. Soon after the earliest contacts with Europeans, the tribe began to replace their original materials with iron, copper, and brass. Metal arrowheads are commonly mentioned in contemporary accounts, and archaeological excavations frequently turn up this type of metal point, either produced in Europe or manufactured themselves from used kettles and other metal objects.
[edit] Social organization
The village was the fundamental social-political unit. The leader in everyday affairs was with the sachem of the village. Early European observers characterized the Native Americans' political system as monarchic, but descriptions of special events clearly indicate that a sachem had very limited power and exercised influence essentially by persuasion and generosity. Important decisions were always made after consultation with village elders, who more or less amounted to the sachem's town council.
Village leaders generally came from recognized chieftain lineage.
The following report discusses the rules of royal succession:
Accession to the position of tribal chieftain is normally heriditary; a surviving son always takes over upon the death of his father. If there is no son, then his squaw takes over; if no squaw, then the closest kin in the chief's bloodline. If someone else takes over, he is generally seen as an illegal interloper, and if his formal promotion doesn't soon prove him to be the best choice, he is ousted.
But this is rather an over-simplification of a complex situation. For example, there were sachem squaws in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, that weren't simply widows of sachems, but rather women whose lineage entitled them to a leadership role. Women inherited land rights, and their names appeared on documents in which this land could be tranferred to English colonists.
The Uncas Pedigree [2] is a unique document from the year 1679 purportedly written by Uncas himself, in which the Mohegan Sachem supports his claim on lands in eastern Connecticut by tracing his ancestry on both sides to sachems of the Pequot, Narragansett and Long Island tribes and proves his descendance form each of those royal lines. He married the daughter of Sassacus (against whom he later revolted) about ten years before the Pequot War.
Marriages appears to have occurred only within class boundaries. Members of the ruling class, at least, were sometimes polygamous, possibly even established themselves in such a way that the chiefs needed the service of their wives in entertaining visitors and fulfillment of other leadership activities, as well as maintaining kinsmanlike ties to the chieftain lineages of their neighbors. A dowry was paid, often in wampum.
[edit] History
One thing that both the Mohegan and the Pequot oral tradition agree on is the fact that they originate from the valley of the Hudson Rivers south of Lake Champlain. The time of their migration is unclear, but a move at the beginning of the 16th Century is probable. Records of the dutch from the year 1614 mention a meeting with the Sequin at the lower Connecticut River. This name seems to have been changed later in Pequin - one of the common Dutch names for the Pequot.
[edit] Fur trade
In the following years the Dutch extended their fur trade at the lower Connecticut River and built a constantly occupied commercial post in 1622. It was located not far from present day East Hartford. Although the Dutch traded with all tribes, the Pequot controlled the smaller Nipmuck - and Mattabesic tribes of the region and these were their main contact with the Dutch. In the year 1622 it came to a confrontation and almost a war. In the following years the Pequot raised a tax for other tribes to be allowed access or to act as mediators in the fur and Wampum trade with the Dutch at the Connecticut River post, and for them to pass their country. This profitable arrangement ended in the year 1633, when English dealers from Boston built a commercial post at Windsor, which was above the Dutch commercial station on the Connecticut River. The local situation made it possible for the English to intercept the commodities from the interior before they reached the Dutch or the Pequot. To counter this the Dutch acquired land from the Pequot and built a fortified commercial post, which they called the House of Good Hope. They hoped attacks from the Pequot would force the Englishmen to give up their post. The interests of the Pequot were damaged by the competition between the two european nations. Apart from the loss of the taxes and tribute payments, and maybe worse, the power and authority of the Pequot over the other tribes were considerably weakened. A further problem was the depreciation of the Wampum currency, because the English colonists manufactured wampum industrially with steel drills and thereby flooded the market. As things turned out there were serious rivalries between the Pequot inhabitants of the inland at the Thames River and the groups closer to the coast. From the view of the inland Pequot the English commercial post was better accessible and paid higher prices, therefore they tried to negotiate with the Englishmen a similar monopoly as they had reached with the dutchmen.
[edit] The splitting off of the Mohegan
For some time there existed a personal rivalry between the two chiefs Sassacus and Uncas. When the sachem Wopigwooit died 1631, both Sassacus and Uncas expected to step in his place. The master council however decided for Sassacus, and despite the fact that he had married Sassacus ' daughter, Uncas never accepted this decision. In the master council it came to heated discussions, because Sassacus favored the trade with the dutchmen, while Uncas wanted to act only with the Englishmen. Two different parties formed and it came to attacks on Dutch and English dealers. The controversy within the Pequot escalated. While the larger group under Sassacus preferred the dutchmen, the pro-english group organised itself under Uncas. Uncas refused to pay tribute to Sassacus and left the Peqout settlement three times. Twice they returned and were pardoned, but on the third occasion 50 warriors with their families left and settled in a new village at the Connecticut River north of today's Lyme. The division became final when Uncas joined them with his small group of English dealers. The group grew constantly because others were interested in trade with the Englishmen. Pequot and also Mattabesic groups attached themselves wanting to be free from the supremacy by the Pequot. Soon the group of rebels was too large for Sassacus to force them to return. They took over the name of Uncas 'Klanwolf and called themselves Mohegan from that time on. Probably no other indian leader has received such negative treatment from the relevant literature as the Mohegan Sachem Uncas. One reads that he was power-hungry, insidious, cruel, greedy and probably the glaring opposite of the noble savage as it lived in the fantasy of many Europeans. That is however no balanced judgement in view of the fact that indianian leaders were never absolute rulers. They attained their status only by special achievements, courage, intelligent decisions and good service for their tribe members. The division of the Pequot came at a critical time. In 1634 the western Niantic, allied with the Pequot, killed the Boston captain and dealer John Stone at the mouth of the Connecticut River. Despite the fact that this man wanted to catch Indian women and children and sell as slaves, the colonists were outraged. Sassacus had enough problems with the splitting off of the Mohegan from the Pequot, but he nevrtheless went on his way to reconcile the colonists. But the Puritans did not agree with his attempts to calm them with furs and Wampum but demanded the surrender of Stone's killers. This however Sassacus rejected and both sides parted in anger. During this winter a renewed smallpox epidemic struck both the Pequot and the Mohegan homes. In the summer of 1635 the Englishmen built the new away Saybrook at the delta of the Connecticut Rivers, so that the dutchmen had to close their commercial post in Hartford, because their entrance to the Connecticut river was blocked. The Pequot lost their trade partner and the Narraganset took opportunity to attack their weakened western neighbour. They reconquered the hunting grounds of southwest Rhode Island, which they had to give up after the 1622 war to the Pequot.
[edit] The Pequot War
With the departure of the dutchmen in 1636 the English settlement of Connecticut began. The Mattabesic, a Pequot tribe, welcomed the Englishmen - on the one hand as trade partners, on the other hand than as liberators from that yoke of the Pequot. The Pequot tribe saw its power shrinking and opposed the English colonists in the new settlements - a war was approaching briefly. Uncas and the Mohegan however were friendly to the Englishmen, but were met with distrust. Soon enough the opportunity came for the Mohegan to prove to the Englishmen their loyalty. In the summer 1636 the western Niantic killed another dealer from Boston named John Oldham on Block Island. Without warning the settlers in Connecticut, Massachusetts sent a punitive expedition, consisting of 90 men under John Endecott, to Block Island. There they killed 14 Niantic, captured women and children, burned the village down and destroyed the fields. On return the expedition came into Pequot territory and required the surrender of the murderers of John Oldham and other Englishmen, in addition 1,000 threads (1.83 m = 1 thread) of Wampum as compensation and some children as hostages. If the Pequot should refuse, they would be punished. Governor John Winthrop avowed that the original intention had been to send Endecott's armed force only to Block Island and our march to the Pequot happened later in the hope to negotiating the matter to a peaceful end. In the following winter the Pequot asked the Mohegan and Narraganset for assistance in the forthcoming war against the Englishmen. Both tribes did not only reject, but even placed themselves on the side of the colonists. Sassacus decided fight without them. In April 1637 they undertook a retaliatory attack on Wethersfield and Hartford and killed 30 colonists. On 1 May 1637 the colony of Connecticut mentioned the offensive war against the Pequot. Despite their existing differences many Mohegan were not ready to fight against their Pequot relatives. Uncas however left most of his dependants under the protection of the villages and pulled out with only 70 of his most faithful warriors to Hartford, in order to strengthen the 90 men troop of colonials under John Mason. They planned to destroy the strongly fortified Pequot road to Mystic River. The small army was shipped into boats and drove to the Connecticut down there to the Saybrook road where they wanted to meet further troops. Subsequently, the way led the coast along into the proximity of Mystic, where they were already expected by a large number of Pequot warriors. Mason however continued to drive with its troop, until he reached the Narraganset villages in Rhode Island. There a war council under the direction of Mason, Uncas and the Narraganset Sachem Conanchet was held. Afterwards strengthened Canonchet Masons small army around 200 Narraganset narraganset-warriors under his son Miontonimo, but did not only give also permission to the Englishmen for pulling by its country and for attacking Mystic from the mainland using Mohegan Scouts. The English soldiers made so much noise while crossing the forests that the Narraganset feared discovery and an ambush. Finally they reached the road and could surprise the crew.
[edit] The Mystic Massacre
On 25 May 1637 the Pequot fortified village was surrounded and set on fire. It came to a blood bath, which were later known as the Mystic Massacre. The more than 700 inhabitants tried to flee, however were forced back into the flames back where over 500 of them died a painful death. Captain Mason, who had the instruction to exterminate the Pequot pursued with his command the fleeing Indians, annihilated them or put them in chains. The message of this massacre reached the remaining Pequot villages, which thereupon fled to the west in small groups. Sassacus led a group along the Connecticut coast and tried to reach the Mohawk villages. But the Englishmen took up pursuit helped by Uncas and his Mohegan Scouts and found the fled Pequot in the proximity of today's Fairfield. The Pequot were surrounded in a swamp but refused surrender. Thereupon the women and children were allowed to leave the swamp. In following struggle 180 Pequot found death or became imprisoned. Sassacus succeeded with approximately 80 warriors to escape. He fled with his pursuers to the west to Mohawk country in today's State the New York. He was killed and his scalp was sent as proof of friendship to Hartford, the capital of the recent colony Connecticut. The Pequot war ended with a series of smaller engagements, and finally the remaining Pequot Sachems capitulates and asked for peace.
[edit] The War aftermath
From the about 3,000 Pequot living at the beginning of the war less than half survived. Most warriors perished in the fight or were executed, and a lot of women and children were afterwards sold as slaves. On 21 September 1638 the victorious indian allies signed a contract with the colonists, that would be known as the first Hartford contract. Most of the surviving 1,500 Pequot and western Niantic were distributed amongst the Mohegan, Narragansett and Metoac. They were divided into small groups and forbidden to ever call themselves Pequot. Each tribe that had granted refuge to the Pequot had to pay a high fine in the form of Wampum to the Englishmen or to deliver country to them. On the other hand the Pequot supplied the Mohegan with a larger number of additional warriors and with a total population of almost 3,000 members and a formal alliance with Massachusetts and Connecticut it established one of the most powerful tribes in southern new England. Their only rivals were now the Narraganset, who maintained relations with Roger Williams and the Rhode Island colonists. Williams was regarded by the Puritans as a dangerous radical, and as a consequence also the Narraganset were viewed with distrust. Because the Pequot now no longer were a threat the number of English settlers continued to grow. By 1640 they settled in the valley of the lower Connecticut Rivers and at the coast along to the west up to today's Stamford. The Mattabesic, natives of this area, were not asked: any resistance against the white invasion was suppressed by the Mohegan. This naturally annoyed and angered the Mattabesic and other tribes affected, and in 1640 this resulted in an alliance between the Narraganset, Pocumtuc and Tunxis against the Mohegan.
[edit] The Wappinger War
The Englishmen were worried by this development and required the Narraganset to sign a non-agression treaty: they not to attack the Mohegan without asking the Englishmen for advice. However the Narraganset Sachem Miontonimo continued his attempts against the Mohegan. Accompanied by 100 warriors he attacked the villages of the Metoac in the summer 1642 on Long Island and afterwards Wappinger and Mahican at the Hudson River. The alarmed dutchmen, who feared a general Indian rebellion against themselves and the Englishmen warned the colonial governments in new England. The outbreak of the Wappinger War (1643-1645) between the dutchmen and the tribes at the lower Hudson River led later to the union of the English colonies in new England. The New England Confederation combined the colonies Hartford, New Haven, Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, excluding Rhode Island, to a defensive alliance. In the autumn 1643 nearly 20 tribes had engaged in the Wappinger war and the dutchmen were on the edge of defeat. In their emergency they offered 25,000 guldens to English volunteers, if they would take part in putting down the rebellion. Two companies, consisting of English colonists and Mohegan Scouts under the command of Captain John Underhill, supported the dutchmen starting in the spring of 1644. In August 1645 in Fort orange a peace between the parties was reached. The Narraganset thought the time had come to attack the Mohegan without informing the Englishmen. Sachem Miontonimo led 900 Narraganset warriors in a surprise attack against the main village of the Mohegan, Shetucket, in the proximity of the today's Norwich, where also Uncas resided. The Mohegan stood briefly before a defeat, when they succeeded to catch Miontonimo. The loss of their leader confused the Narraganset so much that they broke off and fled the fight. Later they offered a large quantity of Wampum for his release, but Uncas had already delivered the prominent prisoner to the Englishmen in Hartford. These decided after lengthy discussion and consultation with the government in Massachusetts that Miontonimo was allowed to return again to his people. English soldiers and Mohegan escorted him until Miontonimo was killed with a tomahawk. Doubts were aired that this execution could have taken place without express permission of the English authorities.
[edit] The King Philip's War
It represents to a large surprise that the Mohegan belonged to the few trunks of new England, the Kolonisten in King Philip's was (1675-1676) supported. The number of the trunks however, which were before the war loyal and had followed now Aufstaendi, disconcerted the Englishmen. Uncas was ordered after Boston and the Englishmen required that its people should deliver all feuerwaffen. Uncas was about 76 years old at this time and came not, but sent three of its sons, who delivered however only one part of the weapons. In order to guarantee that the Mohegan remained loyal, it took the Englishmen two of the sons up to the end of the war as a hostage, during whom third named Oneko the Mohegan mohegan-Krieger to lead should. The Mohegan fought at first as Scouts for the army of Robert Treat and saved in September 1675 an English troop with Hadley from the complete destruction. In December 1675 150 Mohegan mohegan-Krieger strengthened an English unit with the attack on the Narraganset. It succeeded to the troop under Captain Church to penetrate into the village and to be the huts into fire. Many Indians fled into the sump and had to watch in ohnmaechtiger rage, how women, children and old persons with alive body burned. In this combat, which as large sump massacre (English Great Swamp measure acre), lost the Narraganset admits more than 600 master members and 20 special Ems. Sachem Canonchet could flee and led a larger group from Narraganset narraganset-Kriegern to the west, in order to unite with King Philip in the western Massachusetts. In February 1676 Canonchet led several assaults on English settlements at the Connecticut River and in March could it Captain Wadsworth into an ambush lure and its unit almost destroy. Soon however hunger became a larger enemy than the Englishmen. In April Canonchet returned to Rhode Island, in order to bring Philip seeds from a secret hiding place. But on the rear march Conanchet of Mohegan imprisoned, the Englishmen was delivered and shot later by a Exekutionskommando, which consisted of Mohegankriegern, in Stonington. Uncas died 1682 at for the time at that time the quite high age of 82 years. The Americans honoured his earnings/services 1847 with a monument in Norwich in the Federal State Connecticut and a bronze statue at the house Coopers in Cooperstown.
[edit] The supremacy of The Mohegan
Death million-tonus MOS terminated the power of the Narragansett in the southern new England. For the break of the contract of hard Fords they had to pay an annual tribute at Wampum after 1645 to the colony Massachusetts. The Mohegan did not have now in the region serious indianischen rivals more. They were loyal opposite the Englishmen, an alliance, which should affect itself favourably for both sides. The Mohegan could expand their supremacy to the north and the west over Nipmuck and Mattabesic, while the English Kolonisten could acquire itself the country of these trunks without Gegenwehr. In the next 50 years many of the small Nipmuck trunks should be absorbed by the Mohegan and lost their identity; the same fate expected also the eastern Mattabesic trunks. The supremacy of the Mohegan and their encroachments finally arranged some Mattabesic in the northern Connecticut, the Newashe, Peskantuk, Poquonok, Sicaog and Tunxis to turn around assistance to the Pocumtuc. These welcomed the assistance-looking for Mattabesic, because they needed urgently young men for their own war against the Mohawk. But they helped their new allied ones also with attacks against Mohegan villages in the winter 1658/59. In most time however the Mohegan in Connecticut ensured for peace, by holding the trunks in chess, which wanted to set themselves against the English expansion to the resistance. They helped the Kolonisten also with the acquisition of indianischem country. The usual method of the Mohegan consisted of it, a smaller trunk a not payable tribute abzuverlangen. If these could not pay, took over the Mohegan in place of the demanded Wampum their landbesitz and sold it thereupon to the Englishmen. An alternative to it was subjecting a trunk to integrate it obligatorily and to sell then its country. That was usual practice between Uncas and the English Kolonisten up to its death 1687, and by its sons was later continued, who followed it as Mohegan Sachems.
[edit] 18th and 19th centuries
Connecticut suffered by the operational readiness level of the Mohegan to few from indianischen attacks in the King the Philip's was after end of the war was the Mohegan the only larger trunk in the southern new England, but although some the struck Narraganset strengthened its trunk, the war and further epidemic diseases had reduced their number to less than 1,000 member. But their number was sufficient, in order to protect Connecticut to a large extent in the next 50 years before attacks of the Abenaki from the north, the remaining new England terrorized. As long as the Mohegan possessed sufficient krieger, in order to place an accordingly effective troop, Connecticut had a reliable security agency. The Mohegan served the Englishmen as Scouts in King William's watch (1688-1696) and in Queen Anne's (1701-1713)watch were led her two expeditions in the upper Connecticut valley against the Abenaki. In Gray Lock's was (1723-1727) still 42 freiwillige served Mohegan as Scouts, but the 42 krieger were at this time the only men, who were able physically still of it. Despite its loyalty the Mohegan no special gratitude became on the part of the Englishmen assigns. When their population dwindled, debts led only about 4,000 Acres with English dealers to land sales, until around 1721 (16.2 km²) at the Thames River remained remaining. Zusammengedraengt on ever smaller area began many the last Mohegan to leave Connecticut. As Ben Uncas, which died last Mohegan Sachem, 1769, only few lived on the remaining Mohegan country. Ben Uncas had transferred the protection of the country during lifetimes to the Colonists John Mason. John Mason did his possible, in order to save the country for the Mohegan, which made it naturally unpopular with the other Kolonisten. Finally Mason was subject 1774 judicially and had to the enormous pressure to bend itself. He handed the remaining Mohegan country to the government over Connecticuts to faithful hands.
Possibly the Mohegan was more useful in its indianische way of life, because the Englishmen made first no serious attempts, her the Christianity bekehren, up to the efforts of Reverend James Fitch for 1671 in Norwich. But to this time the Mohegan felt already pressed and was not not very unlocked for a new religion. The work of Fitch had resulted in such a way from the King Philip's was interrupted and the Englishmen was thereafter verbittert that the mission work only 1711 was again taken up, as for the Mohegan in Groton, Stonington and Niantic new missions.
The first really successful Missionar with the Mohegan was someone from its own people named Samson Occum. In the year 1773 Occum preached to its master members and organized it bread ago in so-called Towns, which one called late bread ago clay/tone. Finally it converted more than half of its trunk over 300 of its people. Many of them took over British customs and clothes and gave their traditional life-style up. Occum bekehrte also different trunks with similar success and, although bread ago clay/tone consisted soon of a mixture of Mohegan, Metoac and Mattabesic, was the Mohegan by far the largest group. By the crossing to the Christianity the Indians became however hardly more popularly in Connecticut and Occum pushed his people to accept the invitation Oneida to live with them in the northern Federal State New York. The first group left 1775 Connecticut and the remainder followed around 1788. Occum died in the year 1792. 1802 united the Connecticut Brotherton with a second group of bread ago clays/tones, which out Unami Delaware of New Jersey existed. 1822 sold those to bread ago clay/tone their country in New York and was around 1834 together with the Oneida and Stockbridge Indians in the northern Wisconsin to be found. Some bread ago clay/tone mixed themselves with the Stockbridge and their descendants belong today to the Stockbridge Indians, who west of Green Bay in Wisconsin live. The remaining bread ago clay/tone in Wisconsin today of the Lake Winnebago is to be found, is however not yet nationally recognized on the east bank. In Connecticut American Revolution the continuing expropriation of the Mohegan country interrupted. In addition, afterwards the State of Connecticut resumed that, which had begun the colony. 1790 lived only about 200 Mohegan in the eastern Connecticut, as which last 2,300 acres (9.3 km²) were divided into individual plots. One leased the remainder to white ones, 1861 Connecticut this country without agreement of the Mohegan, however sold. A process is at present pending.
[edit] The Mohegan today
In the subsequent years had itself the Mohegan in Connecticut so well integrated that from the 400 Mohegan consensus of 1850 only 22 persons in the year 1910 to be found could. Naturally it gave more Mohegan in Connecticut, because most had remained there and were located among themselves in connection. Into the 1970er years the trunk was organized again and got 1994 its national acknowledgment (English Federal recognition) under the guidance of Ralph W. Sturges. The Mohegan received one Reservation under the name The Mohegan Tribe in Uncasville. It is the location of the Mohegan Sun a casino and hotel, which the Mohegan operate. In addition a project runs, with which they want to be collected as many words as possible by their language on data media. For this purpose old people are asked, in order to deliver their knowledge to the recent generation. In censuses of 2000 were counted 1,180 Mohegan.
[edit] Sources
[edit] Literature
- Bruce G. Trigger (Hrsg.): Handbook Of North American Indians. Volume. 15. Northeast . Smithsonian institution press, Washington D. C. 1978 ISBN 0-16-004575-4
- Alvin M. Josephy, Jr.: 500 Nations: An Illustrated History of North American Indians, Gramercy, 2002 ISBN 0-517-16394-2
- Alvin M. Josephy, Jr.: The Indian Heritage of America, Mariner Books, 1991 ISBN 0-395-57320-3
- Samuel de Champlain: Les voyages de la Nouvelle France occidentale, dicte Canada, Paris, 1632, in Voyages and Explorations of Samuel De Champlain (1604-1616) (in Google books)
- B. B. Thatcher: Indian Biography: or, An historical account of those individuals who have been distinguished among the North American natives as orators, warriors, and statesmen and other remarkable characters, Vol. II, Harper and Brothers, New York, 1836, Appendix, p. 304 (in Google books)
