The War of Attrition began in May of 1691. This type of warfare was meant to "starve out" the opponent. The “halfe peace” ended on may first, and peace talks were planned to take place on May 1st but the Kennebunk didn’t show up leaving the colonists worried and sceptical. Then, on June 13th, the Kennebunk and Moxis attacked the colonists with two hundred troops, marking the start of the War of Attrition. Essex county repelled the attack, however it cause both sides to alter their war tactics. In addition, the motherland was not able to send supplies to reinforce the colonies because they were too busy fighting the 9 Years War. Therefore, the Indians attacking their resources was a huge hit to the colonists. One colonist wrote, "[The Wabanakis] are resolved to starve us, by allarming us every where, & keeping us from attending our corn & by Killing our cattell." (109). Another colonist wrote, "The enymie was constantly killinge and destroyinge both fatt and lean cattell and it is taken for granted without speedy help corns that they will not leave a beast alive in the whole province." (109-110). The depleting resources forced settlers to stay in Garrisons- like in Wells- where the colonists were only able to grow enough corn to last them half a year. Cattle and swine stocks were greatly diminished as well. The commander of the troops stationed at Wells said, "they have already Killed So many Cattle for the Souldires, that they have hardly left where with to Sustain their one [own] family's this winter & that many famylyes have hardly bread to eat." (110).The war of attrition wasn't an actual war. The real war was in Europe between France, and the Grand alliance. The war of attrition was the Wells protecting themselves as best they could. They had very few supplies, almost no manpower, and their livestock was depleting quickly. When the Natives first attacked, the Wells realized that they couldn't fight a war so they immediately established a fighting style where they could survive long enough to get supplies shipped in. They played a defensive war, most of the time hiding behind garrisons and only growing as much corn as they needed. They lived off the bare minimum and survived the multiple attacks from the Wabanakis and Kennebunk until the winter of 1691 when the Natives started running out of supplies. The attacks ceased and the colony recovered fully.
A War of Attrition
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This adds to the evidence supporting the claim that the hysteria was partially caused by the fact that many settlers in Essex County had traumatic pasts as well as a present state of fear & paranoia.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that a lot of things that the Wabanakis did to the settlers were later acts pinned on witches. Emotionally how did this contribute to the Salem witch trials hysteria? Was it the deaths of family members or the terrifying events as a whole that caused the settlers' emotional scars?
ReplyDeleteIf the attacks from the Wabanakis and Kennebunks did not cease, do you think the colonists would be unable to survive?
ReplyDeleteIt's really interesting that the Indians used this as a type of tactic to eliminate the English people. It was a way of killing them, without brute force. Taking away their resources will cause weakness and confusion which will enhance the Indian's chances of success when they truly attack.
ReplyDeleteA very interesting tactic by the natives. The residents of Massachusetts certainly were not accustomed to this style of torture, so to speak; their traditional style of war was head-to-head combat as opposed to guerrilla warfare. Another thing to consider is why the Wabanaki and the Kennebunk instigated this six month attack. Did the Europeans offend them in some way? Did the natives have outside aid (i.e. the French)? Another aspect worth questioning is if this event precisely, and other such wars involving the native Americans, is why the devil was so frequently depicted as a native American. Was the whole Salem witch crisis just a big European grudge on the natives of the place that they forcefully invaded?
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