European diseases had moved through Native communities.

Captivity and slave raiding had occurred.

The first decades of sustained English settlement therefore did not represent a clean meeting between two previously isolated worlds.

For the Wampanoag, the newcomers had to be understood in practical political terms.

Could they become useful allies?

Could their weapons and trade goods strengthen a Native community against rivals?

Could relationships with Europeans help protect territory?

Could Europeans be controlled through diplomacy?