[Grammar] English settlers or the English settlers???

[Unregistered]

Hello,

Can anyone help me with this article?
Should I use THE in a sentence like The Mohegans had lost their lands to THE English settlers ...?

Thanks.

 

[ianhood]

Use "the" if referring to English settlers already mentioned, or to the English settlers in North America that we all know about already. Omit "the" if referring to some unknown or unidentified group of settlers. The point of using "the" is to refer to something already known to the hearer or reader, hence the term "definite article". I am not a teacher, but a native speaker of 78 years experience..

 

[Tdol]

The use of 'had lost' suggests that there may well have been some earlier discussion, in which case using the would be logical.