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the first of the Mohegans
Author(s) -
BURTON WILLIAM,
LOWENTHAL RICHARD
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
american ethnologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.875
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1548-1425
pISSN - 0094-0496
DOI - 10.1525/ae.1974.1.4.02a00010
Subject(s) - realm , interpretation (philosophy) , politics , new england , simple (philosophy) , sociology , history , anthropology , epistemology , law , political science , philosophy , archaeology , linguistics
Historians have tended to treat Indian‐Puritan relations in New England as though the Indian people were simple reactors to Puritan behaviors. Specifically, the behavior of the Mohegan Sachem, Uncas, has been interpreted in various ways, none of which, however, take into account the ongoing political system amongst the New England Indians. By applying simultaneously the principles of anthropology and history, the authors suggest an interpretation for Uncas' actions which reveals him as an active initiator of the Pequot War in 1637 for political purposes entirely within the realm of Indian social structure.