Metacom (1640-1676) was a Native American chief (sachem) whose tribe, the Wampanoags, waged the most devastating war against the Engish in early American history.

King Philip/Metacom was the son of Massasoit and the younger brother of Wamsutta, all three of whom were at one time sachem (chief) of the Wampanoag tribe of southern New England. Massasoit had befriended the English settlers at Plymouth soon after their arrival, and the two communities had become allies against the traditional enemies of the Wampanoags, the Narragansett tribe. But relations between the Wampanoags and the English deteriorated gradually in the succeeding decades. The problem was simple. When the English first arrived, they offered some Native American tribes leverage against neighboring unfriendly tribes. But as the English colonies expanded, they occupied more and more land that had belonged to the area tribes. Even tribes on good terms with the English, like the...