 The first major war in New England was the Pequot War of 1637 . The war 's roots go back to 1632 , when a dispute arose between Dutch fur traders and Plymouth officials over control of the Connecticut River Valley near modern Hartford , Connecticut . Representatives from the Dutch East India Company and Plymouth Colony both had deeds which claimed that they had rightfully purchased the land from the Pequots . A sort of land rush occurred as settlers from Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies tried to beat the Dutch in settling the area ; the influx of English settlers also threatened the Pequot . Other confederations in the area sided with the English , including the Narragansetts and Mohegans , who were the traditional enemies of the Pequots . The event that sparked formal hostilities was the capture of a boat and the murder of its captain John Oldham in 1636 , an event blamed on allies of the Pequots . In April 1637 , a raid on a Pequot village by John Endicott led to a retaliatory raid by Pequot warriors on the town of Wethersfield , Connecticut , where some 30 English settlers were killed . This led to a further retaliation , where a raid led by Captain John Underhill and Captain John Mason burned a Pequot village to the ground near modern Mystic , Connecticut , killing 300 Pequots . Plymouth Colony had little to do with the actual fighting in the war . 
