King Philip, 1638 - 1676

About this episode

This episode discusses King Philip, a Wampanoag Sachem, and the historical narrative surrounding his legacy and the war that nearly destroyed the English colonies in New England.

Today on Murderhobos: King Philip. A Wampanoag Sachem, whose name became synonymous with a bloody, horrific, war that nearly destroyed the English colonies of New England. The effectiveness of the Wampanoag and allied campaign led surviving colonists to construct a popular public memory of Philip as a bloodthirsty monster: the brutal, ugly leader, of a race of so-called savages. But Philip was a real person, who lived most of his life at peace. How did his memory become so effectively attached to later racist ideas like manifest destiny and westward expansion? Submit questions to murderhobospodcast@gmail.com or on our Patreon discord by January 13th, 2026. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: bit.ly/murderhobospatreon . Donate to the show at bit.ly/donatetomurderhobos .

People in this episode

Host: Adam Franti

Topics covered

• King Philip
• Wampanoag history
• colonial America
• racism
• manifest destiny
• westward expansion

Keywords

• King Philip
• Wampanoag
• colonial history
• New England
• manifest destiny
• racism
• westward expansion

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Wampanoag

Places: New England

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• Tecumseh, 1768 - 1813 · February 24, 2026 · 2h 35m
• King Philip Q&A Episode! · February 10, 2026 · 1h 44m
• Pirate Arc Q&A Episode! · December 23, 2025 · 1h 52m