Pometacom (King Philip), the celebrated seventeenth-century Wampanoag sachem, is believed to be one of five known children of Massasoit, the chief who was present at the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving celebration. The tensions between Pometacom’s people and the early New England settlers eventually escalated into what is known as King Philip’s War. Just prior to the outbreak of hostilities, Pometacom held council with a group of Rhode Island settlers who were attempting to arbitrate a peace between the two parties. At this meeting Pometacom acknowledged that war was the worse solution to the problem but pointed out that his people had been pushed to their limit. He stated his case as follows: “The English who came first to this country were but a handful of people, forlorn, poor, and distressed. My father was then Sachem. He relieved their distress in the most kind and hospital manner. He gave them land to plant and build upon. They flourished and increased. By various means, they got possessed of a great part of his territory. But he still remained their friend till he died. My elder brother became Sachem. He was seized and confined and thereby became ill and died. Soon after I became Sachem, the English disarmed all my people. Our land was taken. But a small part of the dominion of my ancestors remains. I am determined not to live until I have no country.”
No contemporary portraits of Pometacom exist. Though many have been created over the years, all were fanciful renditions from the artists’ imaginations.
The creation of this portrait was ten years in the making. His face is a composite image created from several old photographs of familial descendents as well as from historic research and living traditions among New England’s First People. We may never know how close a resemblance it is to his actual physiognomy, but hopefully it has captured the essence of his spirit.