Plymouth’s war council met on August 4 to decide the fate of 112 Wampanoags taken at Dartmouth, most of them women and children. Plymouth officer Benjamin Church later claimed that most had surrendered after they were promised good terms thanks to the efforts of a friendly Indian, but Plymouth governor Josiah Winslow was informed they came in “without any assurance or invitation from us.” After questioning them, the council concluded that several had participated in raids and that the rest had either supported them or violated their covenant by failing to report Philip’s conspiracy. After “serious and deliberate consideration,” it sentenced most to be sold abroad. A dozen or so were “otherwise disposed of” on “special consideration.” A few weeks later, fifty-seven more Wampanoags who had surrendered were condemned to slavery by Plymouth. Another eighty brought in by Captain Samuel Mosely were sold in Boston. John Eliot, the missionary, was horrified. He could hardly imagine a policy mo...
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