Uncas

Uncas was a sachem of the Mohegans who made the Mohegans the leading regional Indian tribe in lower Connecticut, through his alliance with the New England colonists against other Indian tribes. Early life and family Uncas was born near the Thames River in present-day Connecticut, the son of the Mohegan sachem Owaneco. Uncas is a variant of the Mohegan term Wonkus, meaning "Fox". He was a descendant of the principal sachems of the Mohegans, Pequots, and Narragansetts. Owaneco presided over the village known as Montonesuck. Uncas was bilingual, learning Mohegan and some English, and possibly some Dutch. In 1626, Owaneco arranged for Uncas to marry the daughter of the principal Pequot sachem Tatobem to secure an alliance with them. Owaneco died shortly after this marriage, and Uncas had to submit to Tatobem's authority. Tatobem was captured and killed by the Dutch in 1633; Sassacus became his successor, but Uncas felt that he deserved to be sachem.