Back in the late 1600’s, tensions between New England colonists and Indians were growing due to expansion by the colonists into Indian territory, and their general bad treatment by the colonists. This was particularly true in New Hampshire, where people from Massachusetts were beginning to move in search of more open spaces. With tens of thousands of people immigrating from England beginning in 1620 and going strong through the 1660’s, Massachusetts was becoming crowded.
The migration of people into New Hampshire displaced local Indians, and tensions between settlers and the indigenous population were high. This situation wasn’t helped by the attitudes of a few community leaders who took the view that the Indians were a nuisance and that it was the God-given right of the settlers to be there. A couple of supposed peace meetings that turned into massacres of the Indians by the settlers set the tone for Native/settler relations for a generation...