This marked the first declared war in Connecticut between an indigenous people and English colonists. Colony Of Connecticut A Brief History "Connecticut derives its name from its principal river, called by the Indians Quonehtacut, and which, in their language, signified 'the long river.'. The men fished and hunted. All the tribes lived in either wetus or wigwams. Some of the most well known tribes were the Wampanoag, Pequot, Nipmuck, and the Massachuset. After Henry Hudson claimed the Hudson River valley for the Dutch in 1609, the Dutch and Native Americans came to occupy the same lands along the Hudson and … Learn of the Indians of Connecticut, the tribes and bands, state recognized tribes, agencies, reservations, records and archives, libraries and repositories. They lived in small bands and had no supreme chief. Home > American History. The conflict, though, had started well before the colony's 1637 declaration. The women picked crops, berries and nuts. In Puritan Massachusetts, John Eliot mastered Algonkian and then translated the Bible into that language in 1663. Broadly speaking, their location makes them one of the Eastern Algonquian-speaking peoples of Northeastern North America, whose languages shared a common root. Not until 1725 did the settlers of the Connecticut Colony (which had absorbed the New Haven Colony in 1624) make a significant effort to convert the natives. They ate deer, moose, turkeys, corn, beans, squash, berries and nuts. The Colony's leaders saw this as a sure sign that over time, all Powhatan people would become part of the church of England and convert to the English life style (Horn, 26). The Tunxis were a group of Connecticut Native Americans that is known to history mainly through their interactions with English settlers in New England. Connecticut is currently a place of gently sloping hills and valleys, but this has not always been the case. The early history of the colonies reveals a complex story of relations with the Native peoples. It stemmed from decades of tension and antagonism between not only the English colonists and the Pequot but involving Dutch settlers and other Native … Unfortunately, the Europeans … The preferred dwelling of the New England natives was the dome-shaped wigwam (wetus), also known as the round house. In fact, I wear these colonial clothes to remind you of our proud past, and all that has gone into making our state what it is today. Early Connecticut History Abstract: Connecticut HistoryA Robin's Eye View of Colonial Connecticut History Hi, I'm the ConneCT Kids Colonial Robin, and I'm going to tell you about the colonial history of our great state of Connecticut as seen by the robins. From the moment English colonists arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, they shared an uneasy relationship with the Native Americans (or Indians) who had thrived on … The early relations between the colonists and Native Americans were quite friendly. Some colonial settlers, like those on Plymouth Plantation, had positive relations with Native peoples. Puritans Have Landed By the time of early European colonization attempts, there were over 30,000 Native Americans in Massachusetts living amongst a variety of tribes belonging to the Algonquin language group. On May 1, 1637, Connecticut Colony declared war against the Pequot. When the settlers came to Connecticut, they had a good relationship with the natives. “What was here before the Indians?” is a question many sixth grade students ask, and so this unit begins with the last ice Age. 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