Samoset Greets Plymouth Pilgrims: Welcome, Englishmen
He walked straight into their settlement and spoke English. Samoset, an Abenaki sagamore from what's now Maine, had learned the language from fishermen who'd been working the coast for decades before the Mayflower even sailed. The Pilgrims were starving—half had died that winter—and here was someone who could actually negotiate. He stayed the night, slept in Stephen Hopkins's house, and returned days later with Tisquantum, who'd teach them to plant corn with fish fertilizer. The surprise wasn't first contact. Europeans had been fishing and trading there for generations, which meant indigenous communities already knew exactly who these newcomers were and what they wanted.
March 16, 1621
405 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on March 16
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