A war fought between Native Americans and White settlers in New England. The Pequot had lived peacefully alongside the mainly British settlers from 1620, but tensions increased on both sides. The British took over more and more land while the Pequot would only trade with the Dutch. In 1636 a trader was murdered, the Pequot were blamed, and the authorities destroyed Pequot villages. After several skirmishes, the Pequot camp at Mystic on the Connecticut coast near Rhode Island was surprised and set on fire, killing some 500 of the tribe, which did not recover. Poor colonist cooperation in this war led to the founding of the New England Confederation (1643).