Wamsutta

Who was Wamsutta?

Wamsutta, also known as Alexander Pokanoket, as he was called by New England colonists, was the eldest son of Massasoit Ousa Mequin of the Pokanoket Tribe and Wampanoag nation. His sale of Wampanoag lands to colonists other than those of the Plymouth Colony brought the Wampanoag considerable power, but aroused the suspicions of the Plymouth colonists. He was imprisoned for three days at Plymouth; he died shortly after release, causing tribal suspicion of the colonists. His death possibly contributed to King Philip's War of 1675. Wamsutta's name is memorialized in and around New Bedford, Massachusetts in various ways. He was honored in the naming of a United States Navy steamer in commission during the American Civil War between 1863 and 1865.