He did not see Boston become a major Puritan settlement.

He did not see the population of English colonists multiply through the 1630s.

He did not see the tightening network of colonial towns, roads, farms, fences, courts, and churches.

He did not see the pressure on Native land intensify generation after generation.

He did not see Metacom’s War erupt in 1675.

He did not see Native prisoners sold into slavery after that conflict.

He did not see later Americans transform Plymouth into a sacred national origin site.

He did not see himself become “Squanto,” the smiling helper in children’s history.

That distance between the man and his later image is almost impossible to overstate.

The historical Tisquantum lived in a moment when the future remained open.