There are things that are documented in his letter to his nephew and another letter to his brother about how he encouraged the Indians to take hostages.
Clearly, the Abenakis did not understand the treaty or even the concept of ownership of land.
They felt they had a right to stay on their own land.
The response by the English was the following:
100 Pounds for every Abenaki male SCALP over the age of twelve.
105 Pounds for every Abenaki male over the age of twelve taken captive.
20 Pounds for every Abenaki woman scalp.
20 Pounds for every Abenaki child scalp.
I believe it was these BARBARIC SETTLERS OF MASSACHUSETTS who first started the practice of taking SCALPS of INDIANS. But I could be wrong. They probably were the first to trade money for SCALPS.
The settlers of Plymouth then Massachusetts were also responsible for the Salem witch burnings...
Father Rale did try to get the Abenakis to not kill the English. And he pleaded with the Indians not to go to war.
There were repeated incidents of the English giving firewater to the Indians which made them crazy.
All of my research pointed that the French were here to be missionaries to the Indians. They also did fur trapping and fishing.
The English had other plans (which is probably good for us).
But there was no reason that a raid let by the English would result in the terrible mutilation of Catholic priest.
The North American Martyrs in New York did not have done to them what was done to Father Rale. However, Father Rale probably died much quicker.
There is a tremendous amount of reading that can be dug up on this subject.
There was great hatred of the English of Father Rale.
Father Rale was clearly trespassing on English territory, but he did that to be a shepherd among his flock.
From the ranks of these Indians later came Chief Orono -- the only Indian to be became an officer in the American Revolution.
The Indians (Abenakis) embraced the Catholic Faith to such an extent that they requested a JESUIT BLACKROBE for their participation with American Colonists in the American Revolution. They made it quite clear that that they did not want an ENGLISH clergyman who was not Catholic.
As for the hardships and brutalities that happened on the British settlers, the same thing happened to the Indians and continued to happen to them until the 1870's such as in the old West...
Clearly, the Abenakis did not understand the treaty or even the concept of ownership of land.
Yet they allied themselves with the French & the French tactic was to harass English settlers, to keep them from becoming too settled!
The population of the Abenakis had been greatly reduced because of a variety of European illnesses, which they lacked natural defenses against. Settlement of French citizens in New France was low, while populations of English colonies further south were growing.
The settlers of Plymouth then Massachusetts were also responsible for the Salem witch burnings...
There weren't any witch burnings in the colonies. (One of my ancestors was among those hanged.) The Plymouth Colony was small & was absorbed into the larger, Massachusetts Bay Colony around the time of the witch hysteria. Much of the hysteria was created by some epidemics & it is believed that French & Indian attacks were also a contributing factor.
Father Rale did try to get the Abenakis to not kill the English. And he pleaded with the Indians not to go to war.
Meanwhile, the French forces he helped keep them allied to encouraged them to go to war.
There were repeated incidents of the English giving firewater to the Indians which made them crazy.
Most English colonies had laws against selling firewater to the Indians, but there were individuals who clearly broke those laws.
All of my research pointed that the French were here to be missionaries to the Indians. They also did fur trapping and fishing.
Yes, some of the French were missionaries, but others were soldiers. When George Washington spoke about avoiding foreign entanglements, I'm sure he was talking about the colonies getting dragged into every single was one wars on the European continent during the colonial period.
The fur market was flooded & prices of fur were dropping like a rock. Europeans had been fishing Canadian waters long before their governments "discovered" the territory. Some place names in Canada reflect places on the Channel Islands.
The English had other plans (which is probably good for us).
There were also English fishermen, trappers & Protestant missionaries.
The North American Martyrs in New York did not have done to them what was done to Father Rale. However, Father Rale probably died much quicker.
There was a whole lotta bloodshed on all sides & it wasn't just in New York. Hannah Emerson Duston's six day old baby probably died pretty quickly, getting it's head smashed against a tree. (I believe that was done by a different tribe, but the common thread was kidnappings by Indians allied with the French.
I believe it was the French who began the practice of putting prices on scalps. As I said, the French population was low, so they tried to gain territory by harassing English settlers to keep them from expanding out.
There was great hatred of the English of Father Rale.
If he'd gotten the Indian population on the side of the English, instead of trying to maintain their relationship with the French, I'm sure much of that English hatred for him would have been reduced.
As for the hardships and brutalities that happened on the British settlers, the same thing happened to the Indians and continued to happen to them until the 1870's such as in the old West...
True, but again, there was a lot of bloodshed on both sides. I live in Blackhawk war territory.