Samoset (c. 1590–1653) was the first Native American to make contact with the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony. On March 16, 1621, the settlers were more than surprised when Samoset strolled straight through the middle of the encampment at Plymouth Colony and greeted them in English, which he had begun to learn from English fishermen frequenting the waters of what now is Maine. A British fishing camp had been established to harvest from the bountiful area now called the Gulf of Maine.