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Explore the story of early Boston, Massachusetts, and the wider 17TH century world
Indigenous enslavement and King Philip’s War
In 1675, the minister John Eliot petitioned the Massachusetts authorities to halt Indigenous enslavement because of “the terror of selling away.. in perpetual servitude.” His pleas were ignored.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Indigenous people were captured and enslaved during King Philip’s War. They were sold in New England, to other colonies, in the Caribbean and as far away as Tangier, in today’s Morocco, and the Azores. Only a handful ever returned home.
Join us online on Wednesday, April 8, 7-8:30pm, for Brown University historian Linford Fisher’s hard-hitting presentation Surviving Slavery: The Sale of Indigenous People in King Philip’s War. His years of research reveal the extent of enslavement - far beyond any that historians had previously believed to be the case - and its cruelty.
Despite John Eliot’s petition, even those Native people who had converted to Christianity and lived in so-called praying Indian towns were captured and enslaved, too. No one - not children, women, men who had surrendered - was safe. You can find Lin Fisher’s article about surrenderers on our READ page (scroll waaaaay down.)
Yet Indigenous people in New England survived this genocidal war and enslavement. You can learn about that, too, by tuning in on Wednesday, April 8, 7pm sharp! Register here. (And scroll down to find out how to get Lin Fisher’s new book on Indigenous enslavement across the US.)
This certificate from Plymouth colony governor Josiah Winslow granted Captain Thomas Smith of the Seaflower the right to transport 110 Native men, women, and children out of Plymouth and to sell them into "perpetuall servitude & slavery." Dated August 9, 1676. Certificate to Thomas Smith, 9 August 1676, Josiah Winslow, 1676. Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston
50% off for pHB supporters!
It’s not officially published for a few more months, but supporters of PHB - that’s you! - can order a copy of Brown University historian Linford Fisher’s stunning new book, Stealing America: The Hidden Story of Indigenous Slavery in US History (New York: Liveright, 2026) at a massive 50% discount.
The bookshop price is $39.99. For PHB supporters, the price is $20, plus postage and packing.
“Vivid, insightful, provocative”… “a masterful history”… “a stunning reorientation of continental history [which] lays bare the theft of Native lands and bodies” are just some of the reviews. Have a look, too, at independent scholar Lori Rogers-Stokes’ review on our READ page, here.
The price is $20 if you want it brought to you at one of our three upcoming in-person events or $26.25 if you’d like it mailed to you.
To order a copy, you can:
send us a check marked “book” - with your address if we need to mail it, or with an indication of which event you’ll be attending in person so we can hand it to you. OR
pay by credit card or PayPal, here - also indicating that you’ll pick it up, and at which event, or whether we should mail it.
Any questions? Email us at phbostons@gmail.com.
their marks, their lives
“What do you see in these marks?” asks Kimberly Toney, coordinating curator for Native and Indigenous materials at the John Carter Brown Library and John Hay Library at Brown University. “What do they make visible? And what responsibilities come with knowing all this?”
Those of us who read traditional accounts of early New England history are accustomed to erasure - the invisibility of Indigenous people of the Eastern Woodlands in traditional accounts, except perhaps as greeters of colonists on the shore or aggressors at war. Kim Toney’s important project on Instagram and Tumblr, Their Marks, shows that, on the contrary, Indigenous people were present in all aspects of life, as their signatures, or marks, testify. Their marks are a sign of agency and survivance.
Read Kim Toney’s important blog post, here, and see the marks of twelve Indigenous people of the Eastern Woodlands, whose lives we explore in our series on King Philip’s War, Metacom’s Resistance.
Kim Toney will appear as part of an inter-tribal panel exploring the costs and consequences of King Philip’s War in the final event of the series, at the main Boston Public Library and livestreamed, on Thursday, May 28, 5:30-7:30pm ET. Sign up for The Long Legacy here.
This is one of few known written records, in his own hand, of Metacom, or Philip, Wampanoag sachem who led Indigenous resistance. Philip, sachem of the Wampanoag. Quitclaim by Philip, Rehoboth, MA. From the collections of the John Carter Brown Library.
Events
BOOK CLUB: whose story?
evana rose tamayo
ONLINE, SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2026, 11AM-12:30PM
For centuries, mainstream understanding of King Philip’s War was based on accounts such as Mary Rowlandson’s harrowing story of her captivity and ransom. But then William Apess, Pequot minister, author and activist, came along. His Eulogy on King Philip, published in the early 19th century, turns Rowlandson’s captivity narrative on its head. In our virtual book club, we’ll read and discuss Rowlandson’s captivity narrative and Apess’ Eulogy on King Philip - conflicting views powerfully argued. What will you think? Please do read both accounts! The conversation is much richer if everyone’s done the reading.
“We need a full and honest
reckoning with our history.”
— attendee, Tyranny vs Liberty series
rebellion or resistance?
Once histories of King Philip’s War spoke of “skulking Indians” and “perfidious heathens.” Now, inspired and inspiring new scholarship is turning that narrative upside down. Maryann Zujewski offers an essential list of primary, secondary, digital and other materials, including tribal websites of presenters in our Metacom’s Resistance series, to help you continue the journey in finding out what really happened.
are you a reader?
If your answer is yes, well - we are readers, too. That’s why we’ve created our READ page, to tempt you to read more! Find out supporter David Achenbach’s view of Edmund Morgan’s The Puritan Family - still in print after 60 years - and author Lori Rogers-Stokes on Lin Fisher’s new book on enslavement. And don’t forget to join our virtual book club!
surprising revolutionaries
New England Puritans insisted on self-government, bearing with them their charter. They drafted the first American bill of rights, enshrining liberties which far surpassed any in the English-speaking world. Who would have thought that Puritans could be so revolutionary? Francis J. Bremer explores the 1641 Body of Liberties and its guarantee of due process, the right to protest, and equality under the law.
“This talk opened a new world for me.”
— attendee, ‘I Pledge Allegiance’: Sovereignty and Sanctuary in the Dawnland