The History of the Pequot War
Prelude to War
Before the Pequot War (1636-1637), Pequot territory was approximately 250 square miles in southeastern Connecticut. Today, this area includes the towns of Groton, Ledyard, Stonington, North Stonington and southern parts of Preston and Griswold. The Thames and Pawcatuck Rivers formed the western and eastern boundaries, Long Island Sound the southern boundary and Preston and Griswold (southern parts) the northern boundary. Some historic sources suggest that Pequot territory extended four to five miles east of the Pawcatuck River to an area called Weekapaug in Charlestown, Rhode Island prior to the Pequot War.
Within this territory during the early 17th century lived some 8,000 Pequot men, women and children (4,000 after the smallpox epidemics of 1633-1634), residing in 15-20 villages of between 50 to 400 people before the war. These villages were located along the estuaries of the Thames, Mystic and Pawcatuck Rivers and along Long Island Sound.
A Volatile Situation
The Pequot War is best understood through examining the broader cultural, political and economic changes that occurred following the arrival of the Dutch in 1611 and English in the early 1630’s.
To control the fur and wampum trade during the 1620’s, the Pequot attempted to subjugate other tribes throughout Connecticut and the islands offshore. By 1635, the Pequot had extended their control through a tributary confederacy of dozens of tribes created through coercion, warfare, diplomacy and intermarriage.
