Seasonal movement connected different environments rather than separating them.

The Wampanoag also lived within a broader network of Native nations.

Political relationships could be cooperative, competitive, or both at once.

Alliances were not permanent in the way a modern nation-state treaty might be imagined.

Leaders had to maintain relationships, protect their communities, negotiate access to resources, and respond to threats from neighboring peoples.

The arrival of Europeans added an entirely new force to this political landscape, but Europeans had already been visiting the northeastern coast before the Pilgrims arrived.

Fishing vessels and traders had entered the region.