Historians differ on whether Kieft had directed the massacre or a more contained raid.  All sources agree that he rewarded the soldiers for their deeds. The attacks united the Algonquian peoples in the surrounding areas against the Dutch to an extent not previously seen. In the fall of 1643, a force of 1,500 natives invaded New Netherland, where they killed many, including Anne Hutchinson, the notable dissident preacher.  They destroyed villages and farms, the work of two decades of settlement. In retaliation that winter, Dutch forces killed 500 Weckquaesgeek.  As New Amsterdam became crowded with destitute refugees, the colonists resisted Kieft's rule. They flouted paying new taxes he ordered, and many people began to leave by ship.  Kieft hired the military commander Captain John Underhill, who recruited militia on Long Island to go against the Natives there and in Connecticut. His forces killed more than 1,000 Natives including the 500 to 700 killed in the Pound Ridge Massacre.  After their private letters requesting intervention by the directors of the Dutch West India Company and the Republic produced no result, the colonists banded together to formally petition for the removal of Kieft.. Who attacked first, the natives or the Dutch?