Our Beloved Kin: A New History of King Philip's War

Expanding on her scholarship in The Common Pot, Brooks (English & American studies, Amherst Coll.) recounts the events leading to the "First Indian War." Central to her account are Weetamoo, a female Wampanoag leader, and James Printer, a Nipmuc. Through their experiences and that of their relatives, the evolution of the colonial milieu that bred the conflict emerges. Brooks also documents the great depredations that were enacted by the colonists on Native peoples during the war, which were later ignored in historical accounts. Remembered was the captivity story of Mary Rowlandson, which was utilized to portray local Indians as violent savages who must be exterminated for civilization to emerge. The author challenges the historical record by utilizing Native sources, geography, and the reexamination of archival records held throughout New England. His narrative crafts how settler colonialism led to a significant conflict that lasted long after Wampanoag chief Metacom's murder, which historians have utilized to signal the end of King Philip's War. Renaming Metacom as King Philip allowed Anglo-American historians the ability to claim a definitive victory for New England's colonists while ignoring how badly they fared in later stages of the conflict.