The person belonged to Patuxet.

What Happened To Patuxet’s Land

When the Plymouth settlers occupied the site of Patuxet, they benefited materially from the epidemic that had devastated the community.

Cleared fields meant less labor before planting.

Existing pathways and environmental knowledge shaped how the newcomers used the area.

The absence of a large resident population reduced immediate resistance to settlement.

Colonial writers sometimes interpreted these circumstances providentially.

Modern history has to name the human cause.

The land looked available because people had died.

This fact is essential to understanding Tisquantum’s position in Plymouth.