Squanto
SquantoSquanto
Squanto is a Native American who lived in the early seventeenth century in what is now the Northeast United States. When the English came to this area of America to settle, they became very fond of Squanto and used him as a translator due to his unique knowledge of the English language acquired through an earlier voyage to Europe. Squanto helped the Pilgrims adapt to their new surroundings by providing them with the knowledge that he and his ancestors used to survive when they first settled in this area. He became known as a friend to the English and a spokesman for his Native friends (Johnson p.2). However, in helping the English, Squanto realized the power he had obtained through his position and used it for his own gain against the Native Americans. He helped the English to destroy some Indian tribes and used trickery to obtain undeserved favors from many people in his own tribe. While Squanto was essential to the survival of the English in their American colonies, he betrayed his Native American friends in the process of providing the English with what they needed to survive (Johnson p. 2).
Squanto spent much of his life living in the Plymouth Colony teaching his newly acquired English friends how to survive in this foreign land. He helped them greatly in the area of growing and gathering food. Without the help of Squanto, the English never would have discovered many important methods involved in growing a decent crop on
the American soil. �Squanto showed the immigrants how to plant corn in hillocks, using dead herring as fertilizer�() after many failed attempts of growing while using their own
methods. He also taught them how to fish and where the best spots were to catch enough to feed the colony. These important tips were essential to the survival of the English. Squanto was also very helpful in establishing peaceful relations between the colonists and Indians. In his first meeting with the Plymouth colonists, Squanto was able to work out a peace treaty in order to keep either side from hastily attacking the other (Johnson p.2). He also acted as an interpreter and a guide to help make the English more comfortable around the indigenous people (). �Without Squanto�s help, the Pilgrims would probably have had severe famine over the next year, and would have lived in constant fear of their indian neighbors�(Johnson p.2); the English could not...
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