Draft:Deed of Ipswich
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Masconomet, Sagamore of the Agawam people, ruled the lands from Cape Ann to the Merrimack River, most of what is present day Essex County, Massachusetts. [1] At the arrival of John Winthrop on the Arbella in 1630 in the Manchester Harbor, Masconomet reportedly paddled out to greet the newcomers.[2] Masconomet was unable to speak or write in English, but he still signed the Deed of Ipswich on June 28, 1638, 8 years after the arrival of Winthrop. [3]
Summary
[edit]The deed of Ipswich lays out that Masconomet acknowledges that he received 20 pounds from WInthrop, and releases the land now and for evermore.[3] Masconomet agreed that there would be no Native American claims over the land from the Bay of Agawam to the Chebacco Lake. He allows the English to hunt, fish and use however else they please. [3]
Text
[edit]I Masconomet, Sagamore of Agawam, do by these presents acknowledge to have received of Mr. John Winthrop the sum of £20, in full satisfaction of all the right, property, and claim I have, or ought to have, unto all the land, lying and being in the Bay of Agawam, alias Ipswich, being so-called now by the English, as well as such land, as I formerly reserved unto my own use at Chebacco, as also all other land, belonging to me in these parts, Mr. Dummer’s farm excepted only;
And I hereby relinquish all the right and interest I have unto all the havens, rivers, creeks, islands, huntings, and fishings, with all the woods, swamps, timber, and whatever else is, or may be, in or upon the said ground to me belonging: and I do hereby acknowledge to have received full satisfaction from the said John Winthrop for all former agreements, touching the premises and parts of them; and I do hereby bind myself to make good the aforesaid bargain and sale unto the said John Winthrop, his heirs and assigns forever, and to secure him against the title and claim of all other Indians and natives whatsoever.
Witness my hand, Masconomet, 28th of June, 1638 [1]
Modern implications
[edit]Historians have now looked at different interactions between Masconomet and the English and have begun questioning if the Agawam truly understood what it was that they signed. In 1644, they were called to the Circuit Court at Salem, to agree to Christianity in exchange for English protection. [4] Below is a section of quotes recorded by Puritan cleric Richard Mather.
Will you cease from swearing falsely? Ans: “We know not what swearing is.”
These Native Americans admitted that they knew not what swearing is, historians say this calls into question the validity of the Deed, if Masconomet understood what he was signing.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Unknown (April 29, 2016). "The Bones of Masconomet". Historic Ipswich. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
- ^ a b Hauck, Jack (April 6, 2015). "Sagamore Masconomet" (PDF). Treasures of Hamilton History. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c Deed Of Ipswich, June, 28 1638
- ^ Lepionka, Mary Ellen (December 13, 2017). "1644: A Turning Point in Cape Ann History". Enduring Gloucester. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
