Peter Randall-Page

In 1736 Mahomet Weyonomon, a Mohegan Sachem (chief), died in Aldermanbury in the City of London.  He was 36 years old.  Foreigners could not be buried in the City, so he was carried across the river and buried near St Saviour’s Church, now Southwark Cathedral.  The exact location of the grave is unknown.

Mahomet’s presence in London was the result of injustice and exploitation.  His tribe had helped the first settlers in New England survive the bitter cold and repel Indian attacks.  The Mohegans became allies of the English but settlers began to steal tribal lands.  Despite support for the Mohegan cause from Queen Anne’s Commissioners in 1705, the lands were not returned.

Mohomet sailed to London in 1735 with three supporters to petition King George II for the return of the stolen lands.  While awaiting an audience, Captain John Mason and Mahomet contracted smallpox and died.  This memorial was erected at the request of the Mohegan tribe to honour a fallen chief.  A stone was brought from Mohegan lands and carved with forms that reflect ancient custom by Peter Randall-Page.  It was unveiled by Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, on 22nd November 2006 with the tribal chairman Bruce Two Dogs Bozsum and the US Ambassador – symbolically granting the audience Mahomet never received.

Mahomet wrote several languages including English and Latin.  He was the grandson of Sachem Oweneco who was granted the return of Mohegan lands by an order of 1705 which was ignored by the Connecticut government.  ‘Sachem’ comes from the Mohegan word for stone or rock.”