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languages as the language of administration, producing an abundance of legal and administrative documents that survive to this day. However, their self-government was gradually curtailed in the course of the 18th and 19th centuries, and their languages eventually became extinct. Most of the original "Praying Towns" declined due to epidemics and to the loss of communal land property during the centuries after their foundation.
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refuges from warfare. Other tribes had been all but destroyed from disease and famine, and possibly looked to
Christianity and the Puritan way of life as an answer to their suffering, when their traditional beliefs did not seem to have helped them. Other Natives joined the towns because they had no other option economically or politically.
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in Canada. They worked to add
Christianity to the Natives' existing beliefs, as opposed to replacing them. They learned Native American languages and found ways to relate Christian principles to their existing religions (as was also done by Catholic missionaries in China). Some Natives were quick to
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were introduced, they were often designated with names identical to those of traditional Native
American offices. The elected officials were often chosen from the ranks of the established tribal leadership. In some cases, Native hereditary rulers retained power. The communities also used their own
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The
Puritan missionaries' goal in creating praying towns was to convert Native Americans to Christianity and also adopt European customs and farming techniques. They were expected to give up own cultural lifeways, attire, religion, and anything else that the colonists considered "uncivilized." The
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Some
Natives converted because they believed it might increase their legitimacy in the eyes of the colonists and thus recognition of their rights to their land. Because of intertribal and intratribal strife and conflict with colonists, some of the Native Americans considered the praying towns as
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While praying towns had some successes, they never reached the level which John Eliot had hoped for. The
Puritans were pleased with the conversions, but Praying Indians were still considered second-rate citizens and never gained the degree of trust or respect from colonists which they had hoped
518:, while that of the colonists were more structured and institutionalized. According to this view, this difference made it hard for Natives to see the institutionalized structures as a whole, and John Eliot had failed to see the need for adaptations appropriate for smoother transitions.
88:, many of whom died during the winter of 1675. After the war, many of the originally praying towns which were allotted were never reestablished, however some praying towns remained. Living descendants in New England trace their ancestry to residents of praying towns.
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Other historians have noted that the
Praying Indian communities exercised self-government by electing their own rulers and officials. This system exhibited a degree of continuity with their precontact social system. While English-style offices, such as
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Nukkehkummees. Old
Dartmouth contained the following praying settlements: Nukkehkummees, Acushnet (New Bedford), Assameekq, Cooxit or Acoaxet (Westport) and Sakonnet (Little Compton). Adjacent was Cooxissett (probably Rochester).
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in 1677, the
General Court disbanded 10 of the original 14 towns. They placed the rest under the supervision of colonists. Many communities did survive and retained their own religious and education systems.
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conversion would grant them. It has also been argued that the
Natives had a difficult time adjusting to the impersonal society of colonial America, since theirs had been built upon relationships and
135:. Having learned quite a bit of Massachusett, Eliot began preaching and practicing evangelism among the Neponset band of Massachusetts, but was first well received when preaching at in 1646 at
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outposts including Wabquasset, Quinnetusset, and Maanexit. Quaboag, far from the other settlements, was never established due to the outbreak of King Philip's War.
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minister who played an important role in the establishment of praying towns. In the 1630s and 1640s, Eliot worked with bilingual indigenous Algonquians including
488:, while others did not like the idea of a full conversion. The process was not always an easy one, and there were many reasons for some to undertake conversion.
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The Plymouth, Connecticut, and Rhode Island Colonies also established praying towns. The following list is adapted from a 1674 list by Puritan pastor
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from 1675 to 1678, many praying towns were depopulated, in part due to the forced internment of praying Indians on
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Acushnet. A village of Praying Indians in 1698 “Acchusnutt” is said to have been the Indian name of New Bedford.
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Eliot Church and a historic plaque on the site of the First Indian meetinghouse in the praying town of
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word meaning "where we gather") is believed to have been located at the site of present-day Fabyan (
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438:(meaning "mats for covering the house") was taken over by the development of present-day
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773:'That Art of Coyning Christians:' John Eliot and the Praying Indians of Massachusetts",
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The idea of a full conversion was in strong contrast to the approach of the Catholic
170:), who became the first Native American in Massachusetts to convert to Christianity.
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meaning "place of rejoicing" in Massachusett. The sermon led to a friendship with
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Rawson and Danforth (1809). Mass. Hist, Soc. Coll., 1st s., x. p. 129-134.
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recognized the work of Eliot and helped to establish additional praying towns.
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The name of war : King Philip's War and the origins of American identity
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434:(meaning "little long river") was located six miles south of Maanexit, and
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442:. These three towns held between 100 and 150 Nipmuc tribal members.
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746:"The New England Company of 1649 and its Missionary Enterprises".
216:. Wamesit was established for the Pawtucket, who were part of the
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had established 14 praying towns. The first two praying towns of
64:. Before 1674 the villages were the most ambitious experiment in
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596:. NativeTech. Nipmuc Indian Association of Connecticut. 1995.
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for printing Eliot's Christian commentaries in Massachusett.
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confederacy. The other praying towns were established as
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News of Eliot's evangelism reached England, and in 1649,
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The Native people who moved into the towns were known as
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Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England
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Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, pp. 2-15.
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Interactive Map showing the Praying Towns in the 1600s
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Three praying towns were established in Connecticut:
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Goddard, Ives and Kathleen J. Bragdon (eds.) (1989)
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Assimilation of indigenous peoples of North America
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530:Indian Burial Ground in Natick Praying town
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185:, which would fund the establishment of an
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654:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
626:(1st ed.). New York. pp. 37–38.
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675:Waban Improvement Society
234:Praying Indians of Natick
187:Indian College at Harvard
239:Massachusetts Bay Colony
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341:Herring Pond (Plymouth)
123:, to translate several
858:History of New England
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111:pandemic of 1633, and
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853:Christian terminology
669:Southwick, Arthur M.
622:Lepore, Jill (1998).
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232:Further information:
228:List of Praying Towns
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594:"The Praying Towns"
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244:Chaubunakongkomun (
214:Massachusett people
107:, an orphan of the
74:Algonquian language
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868:Martha's Vineyard
863:King Philip's War
727:Missing or empty
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352:Sawkattuket
304:Wabaquasset
267:Magunkaquog
168: 1685
161: 1604
86:Deer Island
78:first bible
47:New England
842:Categories
685:8 November
604:8 November
575:References
537:constables
486:conversion
406:Cotuhkikut
400:Wawayontat
389:Codtaninut
179:Parliament
121:Pequot War
97:John Eliot
888:Wampanoag
720:cite book
650:cite book
396:Pispogutt
392:Weesquobs
378:Pawpoesit
370:Weequakut
356:Nantucket
348:Manamoyik
300:Waushakum
286:Ponkapoag
282:Pakachoag
218:Pennacook
210:Ponkapoag
191:Cambridge
125:Christian
679:Archived
642:36573588
598:Archived
548:See also
420:Maanexit
409:Namasket
386:Wakoquet
367:Matakees
337:Gay Head
333:Ashimuit
262:Manchaug
175:Cromwell
138:Nonantum
113:Cockenoe
109:Smallpox
754:. 1948.
484:accept
481:Jesuits
446:Purpose
403:Sokones
382:Mashpee
312:Wamesit
308:Waentug
291:Quaboag
271:Nashoba
257:Manexit
200:of the
131:, into
117:Montauk
101:Puritan
92:History
68:in the
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640:
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500:After
424:Nipmuc
374:Satuit
275:Natick
222:Nipmuc
206:Natick
154:Nipmuc
143:Newton
787:JSTOR
150:Waban
129:Bible
733:help
687:2021
656:link
638:OCLC
628:ISBN
606:2021
539:and
779:doi
430:).
422:(a
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177:'s
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53:to
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