The Man Who Returned Was Not The Man Who Left

Five years can be a long time in any life.

For Tisquantum, those five years had included a forced Atlantic crossing, life among foreigners, a new language, exposure to European commercial systems, and repeated dependence on people who controlled whether he could move.

Even if Patuxet had survived untouched, returning would not have been simple.

He had changed.

His community would have changed too.

Instead, he returned to catastrophic loss.

This is one reason the later political behavior described by English writers deserves a more careful reading than simple condemnation.

A person who has lost his original community may seek security through other forms of influence.

A person who has learned how much power information can carry may use information aggressively.