Squanto

Tisquantum (/tɪsˈkwɒntəm/; c. 1585 (±10 years?) – November 30, 1622 O.S.), more commonly known as Squanto (/ˈskwɒntoʊ/), was a member of the Patuxet tribe of Wampanoags, best known for being an early liaison between the Native American population in Southern New England and the Mayflower Pilgrims who made their settlement at the site of Tisquantum's former summer village, now Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Patuxet tribe had lived on the western coast of Cape Cod Bay, but were wiped out by an epidemic, traditionally assumed to be smallpox brought by previous European explorers; however, recent findings suggest that the disease was Leptospirosis,^[1] a bacterial infection transmitted to humans typically via "dirty water" or soil contaminated with the waste product of infected, often domestic animals.

In 1614, Tisquantum was kidnapped by English slaver, Captain Thomas Hunt, who trafficked him to Spain, selling him in the city of Málaga. He and several other captives were said to have been ransomed by local Franciscan friars who focused on their education and evangelization.^[2] Tisquantum is said to have been baptized a Catholic, although no known primary sources support this claim. Having learned English during his captivity, he eventually travelled to England and managed to find a way back across the Atlantic. He arrived back to his native village in America in 1619, only to find that he had become the last of the Patuxet as his tribe had been wiped out by epidemic; so he then went to live with the Wampanoags.

The Mayflower landed in Cape Cod Bay in 1620, and Tisquantum worked to broker peaceable relations between the Pilgrims and the local Pokanokets. He played a crucial role in the early meetings in March 1621, partly because he could speak English. He then lived with the Pilgrims for 20 months as an interpreter, guide, and advisor. He introduced the settlers to the fur trade and taught them how to sow and fertilize native crops; this proved vital because the seeds the Pilgrims had brought from England mostly failed. As food shortages worsened, Plymouth Colony Governor William Bradford relied on Tisquantum to pilot a ship of settlers on a trading expedition around Cape Cod and through dangerous shoals. During that voyage, Tisquantum contracted what Bradford called an "Indian fever". Bradford stayed with him for several days until he died, which Bradford described as a "great loss".