Tisquantum also known as
Squanto, was the
Native American who assisted the
Pilgrims after their first winter in the
New World and was integral to their survival. He was a member of the
Patuxet tribe, a
tributary of the
Wampanoag Confederacy. During his lifetime, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean six times. In 1605, Captain
George Weymouth, who was exploring the New England coastline for Sir
Ferdinando Gorges, captured five members of Squanto's tribe, and took them along with Squanto to England, where Gorges taught him English and trained him to be a guide and interpreter.
He is commonly thought to have taught the colonists how to catch the menhaden necessary to fertilize maize in the native fashion along with the methods by which they could catch fish and other local wildlife for food. His name lives on in place names in Massachusetts'
South Shore, most notably in the neighborhood of
Squantum in
Quincy.
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