Description
Native peoples have continuously occupied Mashantucket in Southeastern Connecticut for over 10,000 years. By the early 17th century, just prior to European contact, the Pequots had approximately 8,000 members and inhabited 250 square miles. However, the Pequot War (1636-1638), the first major conflict between colonists and an indigenous New England people had a devastating impact on the Tribe. When the Pequot War formally ended, many tribal members had been killed and others placed in slavery or under the control of other tribes. The Pequot and the Mohegan were formerly a single group, but the Mohegan split off in the 17th century as the Pequot came to control much of Connecticut.
Language
Mohegan-Pequot is an Algonquian language
Culture
Their subsistence was based on the cultivation of corn (maize), hunting, and fishing. In the 1600s their population was estimated to be 2,200 individuals. The Mohegan and the Pequot were jointly ruled by the Pequot chief Sassacus until a rebellion of the subchief Uncas resulted in Mohegan independence. For a period from 1620 onward the Pequot and British settlers lived side by side in mutual helpfulness and peaceful trade. Gradually, however, Pequot resentment swelled as increasing numbers of colonists encroached upon the tribe’s customary territory. The Pequot eventually promised all tribal trade to the Dutch, a course of action much resented by the British.