The Tisquantum most people know is preserved largely in documents written by men who benefited from his knowledge.

Even his famous name comes to modern audiences filtered through English spelling.

“Squanto” is the form that became common in popular history, but “Tisquantum” is closer to the name recorded in early sources.

What can be reconstructed with confidence is the sequence that changed his life.

In 1614, an English captain named Thomas Hunt took him away.

The Kidnapping Of 1614

European ships had been visiting the northeastern coast of North America for years before the Mayflower.

Explorers mapped shorelines.

Fishermen worked rich Atlantic waters.

Merchants sought furs and other commodities.