Their reason was brutally practical.

They needed him.

Plimoth Patuxet preserves accounts showing that Bradford acknowledged Tisquantum had committed serious offenses but still resisted surrendering him because without him the colonists did not know how they would communicate effectively with Native peoples.

This moment exposes the real balance of power around Tisquantum.

Ousamequin had authority over him within the Wampanoag political world.

The English had physical custody and depended on his skills.

Tisquantum survived between those systems.

His language ability, created by kidnapping, now protected him from a Native leader whose authority he had challenged.

That is a far more complicated story than the gentle interpreter of Thanksgiving pageants.

A Relationship That Nearly Broke