Subjects Unto the Same King - Essay Example

It will also define the reasons behind the success of the faction. The paper will conclusively confirm if the chosen group’s story is parallel to that of other people in the English Atlantic Empire. Massachusetts Bay Colony had a staunch position on authority. Its colonists championed the fact that the colony's charter entrusted them with the final authority in New England and that even the King’s appeal cannot deny them that privilege. This fostered a lot of conflict between them and the Indians while other neighboring colonies used this conflict to preserve or enhance their own power.

Massachusetts enjoyed the support of three English colonies and the opposition of three other colonies. After the settling in the Massachusetts Bay, the colonizers demanded that the Indians recognize their superiority. This led to a struggle for authority that the Massachusetts won. Their success relied on many factors. First, there were divisions among the Indians in responding to the Massachusetts leaders’ demand. Some agreed, others sought power in other colonies and those who resisted were very few (Pulsipher 3).

The lack of a common stand led to their defeat. The population of Massachusetts was incomparably larger than that of other colonies and specifically than that of Indians. . The magistrates supported the Massachusetts and in one of such cases, the General court condemned the Indians for raising a complaint against the Massachusetts who had attacked them (Pulsipher 288). This favoritism led to the success of the Massachusetts. The lack of fighting tools such as guns and gunpowder also led to the defeat of the Indians.

The English refused to give or even sell them this merchandise to the advantage of the Massachusetts (Pulsipher 325). The Indian soldiers were lowly paid and thus their morale was low in fighting with the well-equipped and paid Massachusetts. They actually dared to quit the struggle because of this dissatisfaction (Pulsipher 329). Additionally, Massachusetts got some external assistance from the French though this fact was highly disputed by the English and the French as recorded in the Francis Card declaration (Pulsipher 324).

This support only strengthened the already strong side and thus catalyzing their success. Another factor that led to the failure of the Indians was the lack of unity among the Indians and selling of Indians to slavery and defections of Indian commanders (Pulsipher 321). This weakened the Indian resistance and the hence the success of the Massachusetts. The double stands applied by the English in condemning Indian attacks and commending Massachusetts attack on slumbering Indians at Turner’s fall catapulted the Massachusetts struggle for maintaining authority (Pulsipher 318).

The Indians experienced a language barrier which again favored the Massachusetts. All these factors contributed to the success of the Massachusetts in asserting authority over the Indians. However, even as the colonists won they paid heavily for the damage