The Name of War

“Instead of being the stage for the perfection of piety, the woods of New England might in truth be a forest of depravity. Instead of becoming ‘visible saints’ for all of Europe to see, the English might expect to become more savage with each passing year, not only less religious but also less and less like Englishmen. And more and more like Indians." 

The challenges of frontier life can harden a people, making them seem less civilized than their more refined relatives back in Europe. Clergymen fret over this, fearing their congregations will backslide in the face of frontier stresses and temptations. They also express concern over what they perceive as a negative influence of Natives on colonial attitudes and habits. 

“Not only had the English taken Indian lands and disrupted traditional systems of trade and agriculture, but they also had corrupted the power of native rulers, or sachems, and attempted to eradicate the influence of powwaws, native religious leaders." 

The arrival of English settlers puts enormous pressure on Native American culture and religion, which are undercut by European ways and the missionary zeal of the settlers. 

“The Indians, Wampanoags, Narragansetts, and Nipmucks, as well as Pocomtucks and Abenakis, attacked dozens of English towns, burning as many houses and killing as many inhabitants as they could. And the English, with occasional help from Mohegan, Pequot, Mohawk, and Christian Indians, burned wigwams, killed women and children, and sold prisoners into slavery. Both sides practiced torture and mutilation of the dead." 

King Philip’s War, with its back-and-forth raids, quickly features the worst cruelties from both sides. English settlers wrestle with guilt but come to decide that frontier battles involve practices they would otherwise deplore.