Patuxet tribe
| Patuxet Village | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
 Historic area of the Patuxet tribe |
|
| Coordinates: 41°57′30″N 70°40′04″W / 41.95833°N 70.66778°WCoordinates: 41°57′30″N 70°40′04″W / 41.95833°N 70.66778°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Plymouth |
| Settled | Unknown |
| Defunct | ~1617 |
| Elevation | 187 ft (57 m) |
| Population | 0 |
The Patuxet were a Native American band of the Wampanoag tribal confederation. They lived primarily in and around modern-day Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Patuxet have been extinct since 1622.
The Patuxet were wiped out by a series of plagues that decimated the indigenous peoples of southeastern New England in the second decade of the 17th century. The epidemics which swept across New England and the Canadian Maritimes between 1614 and 1620 were especially devastating to the Wampanoag and neighboring Massachuset, with mortality reaching 100% in many mainland villages. When the Pilgrims landed in 1620, all the Patuxet except Squanto had died. The plagues have been attributed variously to smallpox,leptospirosis, and other diseases.
Some European expedition captains were known to increase profits by capturing natives to sell as slaves. Such was the case when Thomas Hunt kidnapped several Wampanoag in 1614 in order to sell them later in Spain. One of his captives, a Patuxet named Tisquantum, anglicized as Squanto, was purchased by Spanish friars; they freed him and instructed him in the Christian faith. After he gained his freedom, Squanto was able to work his way to England where he lived for several years, working with a shipbuilder.
He signed on as an interpreter for a British expedition to Newfoundland. From there Squanto went back to his home, only to discover that, in his absence, epidemics had killed everyone in his village.
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Wikipedia