The History of The First Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a holiday that Americans have celebrated for over 400 years. The Thanksgiving Day that we think of today is quite different from the First Thanksgiving, which occurred between September 21 and November 11, 1621. The story that you might have heard about the First Thanksgiving might not be the same as the true history as things didn't work out so perfectly, but in the end, English settlers did have a bountiful feast with the Wampanoag tribe. The Native Americans and settlers ate some of the foods that we eat today on Thanksgiving Day, but there was a lot of food that wasn't available to them at the time, such as cranberry jam and potatoes. 

The Plymouth colonists were referred to as Brownists before they decided to settle in America. Brownists were Puritan separatists who didn't believe in the ways of the Catholic Church and decided to create their own. They thought that church should be something that you voluntarily attend as a community and not something that is forced by the state. 

Robert Brown, the founder of the Brownists, felt that the Catholic Church had too much power over the people of England and decided to write a couple of books that went against the Catholic Church's values. This was seen as a threat to the Catholic Church and treated anyone who associated with the Brownists badly. 

The Brownists and even Puritans were being hounded by the English Catholic Church and were not able to hold any titles, and were not the wealthiest of people. They knew that they needed to get as far away from England as possible but didn't have the funds to do so. 

There were around 120 Brownists and Puritans that made their first attempt to leave England in August of 1620. The group of Puritans were able to purchase two older ships with the funds that they received from King James I. These ships were not in the best condition, but they were the only ships that the Puritans could afford as they needed supplies for the journey across the sea. 

Speedwell was one of the ships that the Puritans tried to use to cross over to America. The Speedwell was built in 1577 and was used during the Spanish Armada. The ship was decommissioned after the war with the Spanish was over, and it even participated in a couple of battles. 

The Mayflower was the second ship that the group of Puritans purchased to cross the Atlantic ocean. The Mayflower was used as a trading merchant ship before it came into the hands of the Puritans. The ship was in much better shape than the Speedwell but was still not considered to be worthy for their long journey ahead. 

The Puritans decided to leave behind around 20 members of their group with the Speedwell as they agreed to wait for the Speedwell to be repaired and they would join them once it was complete. The group ended up leaving sometime in September of 1620 with 102 passengers on board, more people than they would have liked. 

The Puritans made it halfway across the Atlantic Ocean with ease but ended up being caught in a storm that severely damaged the Mayflower. The would-be colonists thought that they would have to sail back to England as one of the ship's masts snapped in half. 

During the rough ten months that the group of Puritans were at sea, they often prayed most of the time as the journey was not easy even for the sturdiest of men. The main reason why the Puritans wanted to settle in the New World was that they would have religious freedom. 

The settlers reached the New World sometime in November and anchored around what is known today as Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The settlers were weary from their long journey across the Atlantic Ocean and wanted to find a place to settle but were unsure where exactly they wanted to. 

The Mayflower Compact is considered to be the first constitution ever created in history as it was an agreement between the settlers of Plymouth Colony, which was the new name the group called themselves. There were 41 male passengers that signed the document, which stated that the group of Puritans would work together and it was the first governing document of New Plymouth. 

The Plymouth colony started to suffer from attrition as the Mayflower was not built for cold winters, which made the ship nearly impossible to live on. The colony agreed that they needed to find suitable land fast, as they would not survive the winter aboard the Mayflower. 

Since the Plymouth colony wanted to find a safe and strategic area to settle in, they often would sleep on the shores during the cold winter nights so that they wouldn't freeze on the ships. The Plymouth colony knew that there were natives in the area as they often saw villages and other Native American monuments. 

One night while the Plymouth colony was camped on shore, they were attacked by unfriendly Native Americans that started to shoot arrows at them from the forest. The men of the colony grabbed their muskets and fired back to ward their attackers off, which they did. 

The Plymouth colony settled in a bay that they named New Plymouth. They decided on the land to settle in because it had all the things that they were looking for in suitable lands such as rivers, trees, and a defensible position. 

Although the Plymouth colonists were able to settle down in New Plymouth, they were still suffering from illness and disease as the winter was brutal in 1620. The settlers did build a little town for themselves but still needed a source of food. 

The Native Americans were dealing with disease and illness just as the settlers did but at a more significant level. Once Europeans first came across the Atlantic, they brought with them many diseases that were not seen by the natives. 

There were originally 120 Puritans that left England to pursue a new life in the New World, and sadly, only 47 ended up surviving, as most perished during the journey and the winter months. The colonists were in low morale, but one thing that they had on their side was God, which was a big deal to them and probably the main reason why they pushed on forward. 

When the Native Americans found out about where the settlers ended up settling, New Plymouth became a big target for Native American raiding parties. The natives would either attack from the forest surrounding New Plymouth or from the coast, as they were skilled fishermen and sailors. 

Since the New Plymouth settlers were tired of getting attacked by Native American raiding parties, they decided to fortify New Plymouth as it was their only option. The colonists built walls around the town and even removed a couple of cannons from the Mayflower to help with the defenses. 

Once the attacks from the natives stopped, the Plymouth settlers were able to settle in their new lives. The colonists found that the surrounding land was beautiful and something that they had never seen before. They knew that they had struck gold as New Plymouth was surrounded by pristine wilderness. 

The Plymouth settlers were successful at planting only corn in the region but were struggling to farm the crops from the region as they had no idea what these plants were. The settlers wanted to cultivate these crops from the region as they found that they were delicious, such as spinach and lettuce. 

William Bradford was the first governor of the Plymouth colony that helped plan the city in the beginning stages. Bradford was a Puritan at heart and was grateful that he was able to flee the religious persecution of King James I. 

Myles Standish was an important figure in the Plymouth colony as he was an English military officer that advised the colony on military matters. When it came to keeping the colonists safe, Standish was prepared all the time as he was an experienced soldier. 

One day the settlers of New Plymouth were caught off guard as one Native American man walked into the center of town with no ill intention. The men of the colony thought that this was some trick and raised their muskets. But what surprised them even more, was that the native man actually spoke English. 

Samoset sat with the settlers for quite some time and explained what he could about the land and its people, as his English wasn't the best. Samoset warned the colonists that other native tribes in the region will not be as friendly towards them as his tribe was. 

When Samoset returned to New Plymouth, he brought along a friend that would change the way the settlers looked at natives. His name was Tisquantum, but he went by the name of Squanto. Samoset wanted the settlers to meet Squanto as he could speak perfect English. The settlers were even more surprised when they heard Squanto talk, as his English was as good as theirs.  

When Squanto was a young man, he was captured by Spanish explorers that shipped him to Spain and sold him into slavery. Squanto was then purchased by an English merchant who lived in Spain and came to like him and even taught him perfect English. 

The British merchant that taught Squanto English fulfilled his word and purchased Sqaunto's freedom so that he could return to his people in the Americas. Squanto was thrilled that he would be able to finally go back home, as it had been years since he was captured by the Spanish.  

Massasoit was the leader of the Wampanoag tribe, which were the native people that inhabited the land that the colonists settled in. Massasoit was the reason why Samoset and Squanto greeted the colonists, as he had always been friendly towards Europeans in the past and often traded with them. 

The Pilgrim-Wampanoag Peace Treaty was signed on March 22, 1621, and was one of the first peace treaties with native tribes in the region. Since the settlers were able to communicate with the Wampanoag tribe with the help of Squanto, they decided to sign a peace treaty between the two peoples as they saw no need for violence. 

Squanto, Samoset, and Massasoit were the main reason why the settlers ended up forming a deep relationship with the Wampanoag tribe. The Wampanoags taught the settlers many things about the land and its history and even helped them with farming, which was vital. 

Along with the peace treaty that was signed between the Wampanoag tribe and the Plymouth settlers, the Wampanoag tribe asked the settlers for protection from the unfriendly tribes in the region. The Wampanoag tribe was very weak at this point as disease had riddled the land, which left few remaining survivors. 

The Wampanoag tribe and the colonists worked together to unite the surrounding tribes that wanted peace. The two also worked together to get rid of any native tribe that was giving them problems, and it was some of the first times the natives and settlers fought together. 

Since the settlers were struggling with farming native crops, Squanto taught them how to farm in a way that was never seen before. Squanto advised that the colonists plant certain crops together to allow both to flourish. 

Another thing that the New Plymouth settlers were not very good at was fishing, as none of them were fishers in the past. This was something that the Wampanoag tribe taught the English settlers, as the natives were skilled fishermen that relied heavily on fish. 

The Plymouth colonists were in much better shape to survive through the winter and had an abundance of crops at their disposal thanks to the Wampanoag tribe. Since the year was much better for the colony and the Wampanoag tribe, they decided to have a massive feast between the two. The Wampanoag tribe chose to supply the feast with five deer that they had recently caught. 

The First Thanksgiving feast was celebrated for three days between the Wampanoag tribe and the Plymouth colonists, even though it wasn't named Thanksgiving at the time. During the three-day celebration, there was an abundance of food as well as friendship. This was the first time natives and settlers had a feast together, which is why it is considered the first Thanksgiving. 

Many of you might wonder what exactly the natives and settlers had for their first Thanksgiving meal. Well, it was quite different from what we eat today for Thanksgiving, but there are still some similarities. Although it was not exactly mentioned, there is a record of one settler writing that men were sent out to hunt game birds which shows that they might have eaten turkey. 

Something that is not usually on the menu for Thanksgiving nowadays but was on the first Thanksgiving was seafood, which was pretty abundant in the region. The natives brought bass, clams, lobsters, and oysters, which its people have been eating for hundreds of years. 

Most of the meals that were prepped during the first Thanksgiving feast were prepared by the Wampanoag tribe, as the settlers didn't know how to cook most of the crops and animals. The Wampanoag tribe showed everything they had to offer to the settlers and were grateful that they formed a good friendship. 

The peace between the New Plymouth colony and the Wampanoag tribe lasted for years, as the first Thanksgiving created a bond between the two. Squanto, Samoset, and Massasoit played a big part in creating a friendship with the English settlers, and they were, of course, all present during the first Thanksgiving celebration. 

Although we have named the feast between the Wampanoag tribe and the settlers the first Thanksgiving, the settlers did not call the feast Thanksgiving as the term Thanksgiving meant something entirely different for them. The Puritans were firm believers in god, and Thanksgiving meant that they would fast for a couple of days in the name of god before Thanksgiving Day. 

Although the first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621, the settlers didn't end up celebrating the Thanksgiving feast every year. It was believed that the feast was only celebrated one more time among the settlers and the Wampanoag tribe. 

Things ended up falling apart between the settlers and the natives once more Europeans crossed the Atlantic Ocean to settle down in the Americas. Not all Europeans were as friendly as the Plymouth colony and didn't take kindly to natives in the region. This led to a lot of turmoil between the Europeans and natives and was the reason why relations went sour. 

George Washington was the first president to call for a national Thanksgiving, which he named the Thanksgiving Proclamation. The proclamation was issued on October 3, 1783, as Washington wanted the nation to have a day of public thanksgiving. 

Thomas Jefferson was among the few that was against Thanksgiving Day. He disliked the notion of creating a holiday of thanksgiving as he felt that the state was sponsoring religion which was one of the reasons why the United States was created, as the English church had too much power over people. 

Although George Washington was the first to declare a national Thanksgiving, Abraham Lincoln was the one that made it an official holiday in the United States. Lincoln decided to issue the Thanksgiving Proclamation that would make the holiday official even though many Americans still celebrated it for years. 

We celebrate Thanksgiving day every year because of many figures in history, such as William Bradford, Squanto, Massasoit, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln. The Plymouth colony and the Wampanoag tribe are the first to thank on the list as they were the pioneers of creating such a great holiday and feast.