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Andrew C. Lipman’s article regarding the constantly shifting nature of early coastal interactions between native Americans and European colonists reveals an interesting insight into duel discovery. Lipman’s discussion focuses on the murder of Englishman John Oldham, his accused assassins, and the mystery of the incident itself. I found the article to be very informative on the early relations between the colonists and the native tribes, even as Lipman uses the term “indian” to describe the indigenous tribes throughout his article. The focus of John Gallop, an English skipper, and his vived description of Oldham’s gruesome remains also caught may attention as Lipman later elaborates on Gallop’s dislike for indigenous people due to the death of his son during King Philips war. The actual story of how and why Oldham was murdered may be lost, but the incident would become another motive for the Pequot War between English colonists and their native allies against the Pequot tribe. Though I found it fascinating that it was later discovered that the Pequot had nothing to do with Oldham’s murder. Conspiracies and racial tensions surround the bloody encounter, as Lipman further elaborates in his article. Through the incident we learn that European colonist underestimated native nautical knowledge which would prove troublesome during the Pequot war, such as when the Mohegens would use their canowes (for their warriors, captives, and refuges) and out maneuver the English ships on the River of Connecticut. Europeans hiring natives on their ships for navigation and translations was also an interesting aspect to the article as it shed some light on to how some natives could have commandeered Oldhams vessel after his death, though not for a long period of time.
Overall, I found Lipman’s article to be an engaging look into early interactions between to vastly different groups of people and how any disagreement could instantly result in bloodshed and war. Even though there was no clear answer to the case of john Oldham’s murder, the story surrounding the incident was even more informative on early colonial life in the Americas.