The First Thanksgiving

Gracie Swanson
American Studies
December 6, 2007






The Pilgrim’s were involved in many religious conflicts in the early 1600’s. They were known as Separatists and formed their own independent Church. They believed that they could only achieve pure honest religion by separating from the Church of England. In 1606 they began meeting in Scrooby, a small town in Nottinghamshire England. Starting their own independent church put them in danger in England. The Church of England was the country’s official religion. The church and country of England were both led by King James I of England. Breaking away from the Church of England would be like breaking away from England itself. People believed the Separatists were traitors against the king and country. King James I kept a close eye on the Separatists. Government officials were sent to spy on the Separatists’ meetings. Pretty soon the Separatists feared that they might be jailed or killed. They decided to move to Holland for more religious freedom. Like all immigrants, the Separatists struggled to adapt to new customs. The only jobs available to the immigrants paid poorly and were very hard labor. Twelve years later the colony decided to move to North America.

To pay for the ocean voyage to North America the Separatists turned to a group of merchants. The merchants agreed to pay for the voyage and in turn the Separatists agreed to set up and make the colony successful. After seven years, the merchants and colonists would divide the profits and property. The Separatists and merchants recruited more people to travel to North America to increase the size of the colony and to make it more successful. On July 21, 1620 they left for Southampton England, and from there they would leave for North America. After traveling to England in a ship, called the Speedwell, they set sail for North America on a ship called the Mayflower. The Mayflower was 113 feet long and 25 feet wide. The ship was very uncomfortable because 102 passengers and 30 crew members squeezed tightly on the ship for the journey. The journey lasted 66 days. Many people were seasick and all were miserable. Life on the ship was difficult. Food spoiled easily and water would develop a layer of scum on the top after a few weeks. Finally after more than two months they reached their destination. North America! The Separatists had wanted to start their colony as far away as possible from the other English people in North America. They had intended to settle the area around the mouth of the Hudson River, which was then Virginia. They found themselves at Cape Cod, which was 200 miles north of their intended destination. The colonists were too exhausted to continue, so they decided to stay there.

A group of colonists, led by Michael Standish, searched the coast to find a suitable place to build a colony. After exploring for a month they discovered someone else had already cleared the land, making it easier for them. They found Native American articles, but didn’t find any Native Americans around the area. What the colonists didn’t know was that they were building on was the exact site of the Wampanoag tribe’s summer village. The village was called Pawtuxet. The Wampanoag had farmed and fished in Pawtuxet forever. They lived in bark covered wigwams called wetus with their families. Each family farmed their own plot land planting corn, beans, squash, and watermelon. They spent their summers on the ocean shores farming and gathering cod, herring, mussels, and clams. In the late autumn and early winter they led community hunts. Then they moved inland for the rest of the winter. Life was disrupted by Europeans in the early 1600’s. Fishermen, traders, and explorers came from England, Holland, and France sailed up and down the coast of New England making contact with the Wampanoag. The first encounters weren’t always friendly. Traders captured native people and took them to the Caribbean Sea and sold them into slavery.

One of the Wampanoag captured was Squanto. Squanto lived with a group of Spanish Friars. Sailors were very interested in his knowledge of North America and the natives who lived there. Before long he was sailing back to the village of Pawtuxet in 1619. It should have been a joyous homecoming except for his people had vanished. In 1618 disease had spread over Wampanoag country and the Pawtuxet people were wiped out. The epidemic of 1618 left fields deserted for Plymouth colonists. It was also the epidemic that left the Wampanoag no choice, but to seek peace with the colonists. Squanto first met the colonists when Samoset, leader of Abenaki people, brought him to translate and speak to the English people. Squanto told them that the sachem or chief of the Abenaki people wanted to meet with them. Later they did meet and made a peace agreement that they would both come to each other’s aid. After a hard winter, Squanto gave the colonists advice on how to plant crops, hunt and fish. The pilgrims began to feel stronger. By the summer the colonists had created two storage houses for food and supplies. Because of the peace treaty, the Pilgrims felt safe when hunting so they were able to acquire a lot of game. Squanto taught the colonists to enrich the soil by burying fish. They heeded Squanto’s advice and they had plentiful crops. Squanto also taught them about corn and how to dry some for winter and make some into corn meal.

After a year of hardship the people of Plymouth found reason to celebrate. It was the autumn of 1621 and they were gathering crops they had planted in the spring of that year. They hadn’t believed their settlement would last very long. About half of the 102 colonists had been wiped out. The harvest of 1621 gave them hope because they had very bountiful crops. The Wampanoag farming had helped them produce lots of food. With the first harvest in and having survived a year in their new home, the colonists began to plan a celebration. The celebration went on in autumn of 1621. There were three days of dancing, games, and large meals. The celebration was not called Thanksgiving, but was merely a celebration. The Wampanoag heard the shooting of the hunting party and went to investigate. When they heard the colonists were having a celebration they joined in. Massasoit sent hunters who killed five deer for the feast. For three days fifty colonists and ninety Wampanoag entertained and feasted. There is no evidence that turkey was served. They may have eaten other birds, cod, shellfish, rabbit, squash, beans, and other delicacies. There was no cranberry sauce because there was no sugar to make the sauce. The meal was held outside and required a lot of work. Corn had to be ground, birds had to be plucked of their feathers, meat roasted, and shellfish gathered. All the colonists pitched in to work for this celebration of their colony successfulness.
It is popular belief that Thanksgiving was a time where the colonists gave thanks to the Native American tribes who had helped them survive and prosper in the new land. It seems that the Native Americans could be considered more ‘party crashers’ than invited guests. When the Native Americans heard the celebratory shots of the colonists and went to investigate, I am sure the Colonists thought it more prudent to include them in their celebration rather than ask them to leave. One hopes that the early colonists truly realized how important the tribe had been to their survival rather that just being afraid of them.