Abenakis and Colonists in Northern New England, 1675 - 1725

This study explores the interactions between the indigenous Abenakian peoples of northern New England with their colonial English neighbors. Between 1675 to 1725, Abenakis and English fought four wars with each other. This series of wars was neither the product of outside agitators, nor the result of clashing interests in the land. The source of the violence was instead the ignorance of each side of the other side's interests and values. Because of this ignorance, no one on the frontier of northern New England was able to understand how pursuit of his or her own goals might threaten others. Nor was there any mechanism by which the tensions that intercultural contact and exchange inevitably produce could be resolved. Consequently, disputes between Abenakis and English quickly became violent. This fundamental problem, though it iterated into new forms after each conflict, was never resolved. Demonstrating the structural conditions that produced this ignorance and highlighting the difficulties it created in inter-group relations provides a model for Indian-colonist relations that helps illuminate violent encounters in other times and places in North America.