records state, “[W]ithout this remarkable and ter-
rible stroke of God upon the natives, [we] would
with much more difficulty have found room, and
at far greater charge have obtained and purchased
Indian land.”
1634Jean Nicolet encounters Indians of the
Great Lakes.
Jean Nicolet, a French explorer living among the
Huron, heads west into the Lake Michigan region
to find new sources of furs. The first white man
to arrive in the area, Nicolet comes into contact
with many large Great Lakes tribes, such as the
Menomonee and the Winnebago. At present-day
Green Bay, Wisconsin—the future site of an im-
portant French trading center—Nicolet concludes
a treaty with area Indians.
The Jesuits found a mission on
Huron lands.
Three French Jesuit priests, accompanied by six ser-
vants, establish the mission of Saint Joseph in the
Huron village of Ihonatiria. The Jesuits, who have
been active in New France since 1626, target the
Huron for conversion because they are France’s most
loyal Indian allies and because their settled agricul-
tural way of life makes them appear good candidates
for “civilization.” Despite some tension, the Huron
tolerate the Jesuits in their lands, although few are
eager to adopt Catholicism. Nevertheless, the Jesuit
mission system will grow steadily until the Huron
tribe is decimated by Iroquois warfare (see entry for
MARCH 1649).
November 1
The Pequot ally themselves to the
Massachusetts colonists.
Desperate after a smallpox epidemic (see entry for
1633), the Pequot sign a treaty with the colonists
of Massachusetts. The colonists offer to help the
Pequot battle their Narragansett enemies. In re-
turn, the Pequot are required to pay the colony
an enormous tribute of wampum (shell beads).
The Pequot are also to surrender the murderers of
a white trader, John Sloan, who most likely was
killed by Indians of another tribe. The English add
this provision possibly knowing that the Pequot
will have difficulty fulfilling it, therefore giving
the English an excuse to break the treaty when it
proves convenient. (See also entry for AUGUST 25,
1636.)1636Roger Williams establishes Providence on
Narragansett land.
After being expelled from the colony of Massa-
chusetts for advocating a separation of church and
state, minister Roger Williams heads south and es-
tablishes the settlement of Providence on lands he
purchases from the Narragansett Indians. Williams
promotes the idea that the English should negoti-
ate fairly with Indians tribes for all lands they claim
and occupy. (See also entry for 1643.)August 25Massachusetts troops attack Block Island
Pequot.
On the order of Massachusetts leaders, Captain
John Endicott leads an expedition against the
Pequot of Block Island, off the coast of present-
day Rhode Island. The expedition is supposedly
to avenge the murder of a white trader, but the
man was most likely killed by Indians of another
tribe (see entry for 1634). Endicott is told to kill
all Pequot men at the Block Island, but he finds
their village nearly deserted, so his soldiers set it
ablaze.
After the attack, the Pequot attempt to orga-
nize a pan-Indian alliance to drive the whites out of
their lands. When they are unable to persuade the
Narragansett, Mohegan, and Massachuset to join
their cause, the Pequot resolve to battle the English
alone (see entry for MAY 25, 1637).