March 16, 1621: Samoset meets Plymouth colonists for the first time

Samoset was born in 1590 in present day Maine. He was member of the Abenaki tribe, which lived in the abundant coastal bays in Maine. English fishermen frequented these bays, and it was here that Samoset most likely learned English. He eventually rose to the tribal rank of sagamore. His new position required him to establish relations with other tribes' elders. In 1621, he was meeting with members of the Wampanoags of Massachusetts when he had fateful encounter with the English colonists there.

In December of 1620, the Pilgrims landed in the New World. They were Puritans, a separatist religious sect of the Anglican church. They were escaping persecutions in their home country. A small coastal inlet in the New World would prove to be their salvation. Upon landing in there, they established a colony at Plymouth, in present day Massachusetts. The first couple of months in the colony would prove to be difficult. Hunger and disease ran rampant. Relations with the local native tribes were generally peaceful, with periods of intense violence. By the early Spring of 1621, the Pilgrims were in desperate straits.

On the morning of March 16th, Samoset emerged from the woods that surrounded Plymouth. The colonists greeted him nervously but to their surprise he greeted them back in their spoken language. He was weary from his journey and asked the colonist for some food and shelter. The Pilgrims allowed him to stay the night and rest. The following day he brought some local Wampanoags to trade with the colonists. In the coming days, he would introduce them too Squanto and later Massasoit. With Samoset's connections, the colony was able to survive its first year in the New World. He would live out the rest of his days in Maine, dying there in 1653.

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