Tisquantum (; c. 1585 (±10 years?) – November 30, 1622 O.S.), more commonly known as Squanto (), was a member of the Patuxet tribe of Wampanoags, best known for being an early liaison between the Native American population in Southern New England and the Mayflower Pilgrims who made their settlement at the site of Tisquantum's former summer village, now Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Patuxet tribe had lived on the western coast of Cape Cod Bay, but were wiped out by an epidemic, traditionally assumed to be smallpox brought by previous European explorers; however, recent findings suggest that the disease was Leptospirosis, a bacterial infection transmitted to humans typically via "dirty water" or soil contaminated with the waste product of infected, often domestic animals, and also likely of European origin.
In 1614, Tisquantum was kidnapped by English slaver, Captain Thomas Hunt, who trafficked him to Spain, selling him in the city of Málaga. He and several other captives were said to have been ransomed by local Franciscan friars who focused on their education and evangelization. Having learned English during his captivity, he eventually travelled to England and managed to find a way back across the Atlantic. He arrived back to his native village in America in 1619, only to find that he had become the last of the Patuxet as his tribe had been wiped out by epidemic; so he then went to live with the Wampanoags.
