Download Squanto: The Life and Legacy of the Patuxet Native Who Saved the Pilgrims of the Mayflower AudioBook Free
Squanto is a name so familiar to Americans that it is part of the very fabric of the nation's history, but somewhat fittingly, given the nation's less-than-stellar record pertaining to Native North american culture, even some of the nation's foremost historians cannot agree with the fact on how it is usually to be spelled. In fact, a more right pronunciation of his name would have been Tisquantum, sometimes spelled by 17th century people who wrote about him as Tasquantum or Tusquantum. As Shakespeare asked, "What's in a name?" In this case, not much it appears, for while Squanto's name can have meant "the rage of the Manitou" in his native language, there is nothing rageful concerning this man who, in spite of a lifetime of hardship and mistreatment, nonetheless experienced the strength of persona to look previous pores and skin and help a small band of starving English family members make it through their first winter in the "New World." At the same time, one of the road blocks in understanding Squanto's life is the actual fact that almost everything now known about him is based on information saved by others who experienced a certain stake in what they wrote. As historian Jeffery Miller observed, "Within their transatlantic correspondence, the Pilgrims presented an image of powerful conquerors subjecting place through diplomacy and battle. However, as their writings reveal, they relied closely on Native allies, such as Squanto, the Indian guide who experienced explained this is of the Narragansetts' snakeskin package. For years and years, Squanto has been celebrated as a selfless mediator who confirmed the Pilgrims how to seed corn and helped them make it through their first winters. However, the facts of Squanto's life and his role in British alliances are more difficult than admiring portraits reveal. Considered captive by stock traders in the first part of the 17th century, Squanto had traveled widely before achieving the Pilgrims, even moving into London from 1616 to 1617. When he came back home, he discovered that his tribe have been destroyed by plague. Squanto paid a high personal price in order to help the Pilgrims, and inadvertently secure himself a location in American background. Historian George Sabato has witnessed, "One of the earliest accounts of an Indian being captured and enslaved is that of Squanto. Squanto is typically created as the Indian who facilitated communication between the Pilgrims and the Indians. The part of the story generally not told is the fact that Squanto have been captured and taken to Britain as a slave, later to be cut back to America with Captain John Smith. While in Britain, Squanto learned British and became a Religious. This is actually the 'secret uncovered' as to how Squanto was able to speak British to the Pilgrims and serve as their translator, and was able to teach them to farm."
