Final answer:
The Puritans formed alliances with the Narragansett and Mohegan tribes against the Pequot during the early colonial period, mainly due to pre-existing rivalries and the strategic advantages those alliances offered. The Narragansett and Mohegan likely allied with the Puritans to counteract the aggressive territorial expansion of the Pequot, leading to the devastating Pequot War.
Step-by-step explanation:
Puritan Alliances with Native American Tribes
During the early encounters between the Puritans and Native American tribes, alliances were formed primarily for strategic reasons. In the 1620s and 1630s, tribes like the Wampanoag, led by Massasoit, saw the Puritans as potential allies in their own conflicts with rival groups. After signing a peace treaty with the Pilgrims at Plymouth in 1621, other alliances between the Puritans and Native Americans formed as well. Specifically, in the 1630s, the Puritans allied with the Narragansett and Mohegan tribes against the Pequot during what became known as the Pequot War.
One could speculate that the Narragansett and Mohegan tribes chose to side with the Puritans because of existing enmities with the Pequot, who had been aggressively expanding their territory. The Pequot War culminated in the massacre at Mystic, where the Puritans and their Native allies set fire to a Pequot fort, resulting in significant loss of life and the subsequent near extermination and enslavement of the Pequot people. This confederation of interests highlights the complexity of early colonial alliances and the various motives behind them.
Historically, interactions between Europeans and Native Americans involved a mix of cooperation, conversion attempts, and violence. The Puritans, like their European counterparts, attempted to convert Native peoples and encouraged them to adopt European ways of life, such as living in 'praying towns' and practicing Puritan forms of Christianity.