Philip King of Mount Hope

Revere’s image of the Wampanoag chief Metacomet, called King Philip by New England colonists, borrows elements from British prints of Native American leaders. It was made to illustrate an "entertaining" account of a devastating conflict that had occurred a century earlier. In 1675, as members of the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth Colonies disregarded boundary treaties, Metacomet began to fight for his people and land. Three years of brutal war left the colonial economy in tatters, reduced Native populations by half, and rendered numerous tribes effectively homeless. Later, during the Revolutionary War, many Indigenous Americans sided with the British, who promised to protect and return their homelands.