In 1675, New England exploded into a war so destructive that—by percentage of population—it hit harder than the American Civil War. This 15-minute documentary tracks the human story through key figures like Metacom (King Philip) and ends with the war’s brutal aftermath: executions, displacement, and the sale of captives into slavery. King Philip’s War shows a higher proportional death rate than the Civil War—especially catastrophic for Indigenous communities. Click here for a 15-minute video about the War posted on December 12, 2025 by Historical History.

(Above, left) The Massasoit Ousamequin established peaceful relations with the English colonists starting with their arrival in 1620. However, following his death, his youngest son, Metacom (above, center) had to contend with land grabs, disease, and increasing pressure from the Mass Bay Colony. Praying Indian John Sassamon (above, right) tried unsuccessfully to convert Metacom to Christianity.

Sassamon was found murdered under the ice in January, 1675 and three Pokanoket men were tried and convicted of his murder by an English court. Two weeks after they were hanged, Pokanoket warriors attacked colonial farms in Swansea, Massachusetts and continued their raids on colonial farms into Western Massachusetts.

As farms were burned and livestock killed, Christianized natives were rounded up and sent to Deer Island where many died of exposure. Hundreds of members of the Narragansett Tribe were massacred in December in the Great Swamp as the War continued into 1676. The War finally came to a close after 14 months in August, 1676 with the death of Metacom at Mt. Hope in today’s Bristol, RI.