The History of King Philip

Metacomet, younger son of Massasoit of the Wampanoags, was also known as King Philip. In 1662 he succeeded his brother, Wamsutta, as sachem or chief of the Wampanoag Indian tribe. Metacomet eamestly attempted to maintain his father's peaceful policies with the Colonists, but the English pushed ever farther into Wampanoag lands, imposing their laws on the native people.

Eventually a reluctant Metacomet united the different tribes of the region and led an uprising, later known as King Philip's War, which ranged from Rhode Island into Massachusetts. Six hundred colonists and three thousand Native Americans were killed in King Philip's War. The war ended on August 12, 1676 when the Wampanoag leader was ambushed and shot by an Indian in the service of Captain Benjamin Church. Metacomet's head was on display in Plymouth, Massachusetts for twenty years.

This version of the History of King Philip was collected from widely spread materials and condensed into this narrative of his career including incidents the author, John Abbot, considered most interesting and instructive to the general reader.