The Pequot Indians, once a powerful tribe, controlled all of 
Connecticut east of the Connecticut River.  The tribe numbered 2,500, 
and its name meant "Destroyer."  After they were defeated by 
colonists in the Pequot War of 1637, the Pequots' influence 
diminished significantly, and many of them were sold into slavery.  
In 1655, some Pequots were released and resettled onto a strip of 
land near New Haven.  Although he tribe gradually dispersed, those 
that remained in Connecticut were forced to share their land with 
great numbers of English settlers.  By 1735, the colonists had 
encroached so severely on the Indians' land, cutting down their 
timber and stealing their crops, that the Pequots petitioned Governor 
Joseph Talcott for help.  None was forthcoming, and the Pequot 
population continued to dwindle, so that by 1850 the number of full-
blooded Pequot Indians was down to forty.