Quashawam

Quashawam was a leader of the Montauketts in the late-17th century on eastern Long Island. The daughter of sachem Wyandanch and sister of Wyancombone, she was kidnapped with other Montaukett women by the Niantics in 1653. Colonist Lion Gardiner assisted in her return and in gratitude for this and other help over the years, Wyandanch gave him 10 square miles of land in a deed also signed by Wyandanch's wife which mentions Quashawam's ransom.

Quashawam inherited land from Wyandanch's grandmother, English settlers recognized her as "chief sachem" over the Shinnecocks and the Montauketts in 1664. Historian Susanah Shaw Romney wrote, "Quashawam's actions, and English and Dutch authorities' use or rejection of the power inherent in her intimate networks, created a climate in Long Island in the 1660s where English influence grew while Dutch influence quickly drained away."

Quashawam's name appears on legal documents in 1664-66 English land records relating to Montauk, Jamaica, and other locations.

Quashawam married a Pequot sachem and died in 1666.