The Pequot aggressively work to extend their…

The Pequot aggressively work to extend their area of control, at the expense of the Wampanoag to the north, the Narragansett to the east, the Connecticut River Valley Algonquians and Mohegan to the west, and the Algonquian peoples of present-day Long Island to the south.

The tribes contend for political dominance and control of the European fur trade.

The Dutch and the English are also striving to extend the reach of their trade into the interior to achieve dominance in the lush, fertile region.

Efforts to control fur trade access have resulted in a series of escalating incidents and attacks that have increased tensions on both sides.

Political divisions between the Pequot and Mohegan have widened as they aligned with different trade sources—the Mohegan with the English, and the Pequot with the Dutch.

The Pequot had attacked a group of Wangunk natives who had attempted to trade at Hartford.