Metacom’s Resistance, Puritan Mythology, and King Philip’s War with Sarah Stewart (Partnership of Historic Bostons)

We speak with Sarah Stewart, president of the Partnership of Historic Bostons, a public history organization focused on 17th-century New England, to confront Puritan mythology and widen the lens beyond Salem to Indigenous history, enslaved Africans, and displaced peoples. We dig into why King Philip’s War, which is often skipped in schools and told through colonial monuments, Increase Mather, and captivity narratives, was a turning point that devastated Native sovereignty, reshaped New England, and fed the fear that later influenced the Salem witch trials. Sarah breaks down PHB’s “Metacom’s Resistance” series, the need for reframing the war through Indigenous voices, and the realities of enslavement, land commodification, and legal encroachment on sovereignty. 

00:00 Meet Sarah Stewart

00:50 Origins of the Partnership

01:51 Broadening the 17th Century Lens

03:21 Programs and Events

04:58 Puritans Beyond the Myths

06:51 Building Community Feedback

08:06 Why King Philip's War Matters

10:53 How the Story Got Distorted

13:22 Metacom's Resistance Series

17:49 Indigenous Voices Center Stage

20:50 Violence and Witch Trial Fear

23:59 Captivity and Enslavement

25:53 Land Commodification Clash

28:50 Land And Equality

29:31 Amplifying Indigenous Voices

33:08 Powerful Panels And Future Events

37:08 Puritans Fear And Ongoing Wars

39:11 Courts Sovereignty And Punishment

42:23 Thomas Morton And Other Paths

45:29 War Choices And Modern Parallels

46:55 Audience Reflections And Truth

52:01 Keep Learning Stay Connected

Partnership of Historic Bostons

“The Unknown War: King Philip's War, 1675-1678” (video)

“The Past is Now: An Inter-Tribal Panel Discussion of King Philp's War” (video)

“Surviving Slavery: Indigenous Enslavement in King Philip's War” (video)

“Erasure: History, Memory and King Philip's War” (video)

“What Really Happened at Turners Falls?” (video)

“The Long Legacy: The Cost and Consequences of King Philip's War” (video)

“The Slews and Hoars of Beverly: From Witchcraft to Slavery” (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GEspMnY9-o

“The Other: Understanding Witch Hunts, Part I, with Emerson Baker, Sarah Jack, and Josh Hutchinson” (video)

“Resistance: Stopping Witch Hunts, Part II” (video)

Jenny Hale Pulsipher, Subjects unto the Same King: Indians, English, and the Contest for Authority in Colonial New England

Jill Lepore, The Name of War: King Philip's War and the Origins of American Identity

Peter C. Mancall, The Trials of Thomas Morton