Squanto was important because he was friends with the Pilgrims. He helped the Pilgrims by leading them through forests so they could hunt. Sir Ferdinando Gorges was a slave taker. Squanto was taken by Sir Gorges for slavery in Spain, but they became friends because Sir Gorges taught Squanto English. Eventually, Squanto escaped and went to England. When he returned to New England in 1619 as pilot for an English sea captain, he escaped and discovered that his people had been destroyed by a disease.