When the first Europeans arrived in North America, they discovered that the land was already occupied. Native Americans had been in North America for at least 12,000 years, perhaps much longer. The early contacts between the two groups were sometimes peaceful and even friendly, but at other times hostile. Over time, though, the relationships became more antagonistic and wars were not uncommon. That was the case in New England where a conflict known as King Philip’s War was fought in 1675 and 1676. By 1675, New England’s Native American population had dropped from about 140,000 to just 10,000 while the colonists’ population had grown to 50,000. The sporadic conflicts with the Native Americans were only temporary setbacks to the growth of the colonies, which were prospering and spreading slowly inland. As a result of these desperate battles to hang on, the Indians had learned one thing: They could not hope to stand against the Europeans unless their tribes united. Under Metacomet, a chief of the Wampanoag, they did just that. Metacomet, known to the English as King Philip, formed an alliance with many of the tribes of New England and began raiding English villages. King Philip’s War was, by one measure, the most horrific war in U.S. history. Twelve of 90 New England towns were destroyed, and 5 percent of the region’s English population was killed. On the other side, as many as 40 percent of the Indians were killed or fled. The war ended when Metacomet was killed in 1676.