Massasoit
Massasoit | |
|---|---|
| Ousamequin | |
Sculpture of Ousamequin in Mill Creek Park, Kansas City, Missouri by Cyrus E. Dallin | |
| Wampanoag leader | |
| Succeeded by | Wamsutta |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ousamequin c. 1581 |
| Died | 1661 (aged 80) |
| Children | Wamsutta, Metacomet |
Massasoit Sachem (/ˌmæsəˈsɔɪ(ɪ)t/ MASS-ə-SOYT, -SOY-it) or Ousamequin (c. 1581 – 1661) was the sachem or leader of the Wampanoag confederacy. Massasoit means Great Sachem. Although Massasoit was only his title, English colonists mistook it as his name and it stuck.
Massasoit's people had been seriously weakened by a series of epidemics and were vulnerable to attacks by the Narragansetts, and he formed an alliance with the colonists at Plymouth Colony for defense against them. It was through his assistance that the Plymouth Colony avoided starvation during the early years.