It was political theater.

A leader who had represented Wampanoag resistance was reduced to a trophy of colonial victory.

For English observers, the display announced that the war was over and that the old balance of power had been broken.

For Native communities, the meaning was very different.

Metacom had not been merely a criminal or rebel in the Wampanoag understanding.

He had been a sachem defending the political existence of his people.

The display of his head therefore represented something larger than the death of an individual.