Nauset

Nauset lies on outer Cape Cod, where beaches, estuaries, ponds and woodland supported Indigenous communities. The Nauset cultivated maize and beans as well as drawing on fish and other coastal resources. Canoes and paths connected settlements with productive places and neighbouring peoples.

European encounters brought both trade and violence. In 1614 an English expedition kidnapped seven Nauset men for sale into slavery. English colonists landed in Nauset territory in 1620 before establishing Plymouth across Cape Cod Bay; afterwards they visited Nauset to trade and obtain food. As colonial settlement expanded, Nauset people faced growing pressure on their land and relationships with neighbours.