Bradford’s refusal to surrender Tisquantum damaged relations with Ousamequin.

Plimoth Patuxet notes that communication between the Pokanoket leadership and Plymouth deteriorated significantly after the dispute.

This is important because popular history often treats the 1621 alliance as stable and harmonious.

It was neither.

Diplomacy required constant maintenance.

Both sides had reasons to cooperate and reasons to distrust each other.

Tisquantum’s maneuvering showed how one intermediary could destabilize the entire relationship.

The incident also shows that the English did not simply follow Wampanoag political expectations when those expectations conflicted with colonial interests.

Plymouth wanted the alliance.

But it wanted Tisquantum more.