Thanksgiving

Here is a bonus...Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.

A Brief History of Thanksgiving in America

In spite of popular belief, the first Europeans to put ashore in what is now Plimouth (the way the early Europeans spelled it), Massachusetts was not the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower in 1620, it was the infamous adventurer/explorer John Smith in 1614. That’s right; it is the same John Smith that had helped establish Jamestown, Virginia years before. Smith had come to Plimouth to do some mapping because he had intentions of starting a plantation there. After completing his mapping, Smith departed and left a man named Thomas Hart to establish trading with the Indians. Hart proved to be an unscrupulous bastard and coaxed 24 Nanset Indians aboard his ship and locked them in the hold and set sail. Hart had intentions of sailing to Malaga, Spain and selling the Indians into slavery. To say the least, the Nanset/Patuxet Indians were extremely pissed and any progress made toward trade with the Europeans went down the toilet. One of the Indians aboard Hart’s boat was named Tisquantum but he became known as Squanto and he played a major role in the successful settlement by the Pilgrims as you will see. Hart did indeed land at Malaga, Spain and attempted to sell the 24 Indians. The problem was that there was an abbey close by and some Franciscan Friars came down and put a stop to it. The Friars took most of the Indians under their wing and began teaching them Christianity. Squanto was not one of them. He made his way to England and became an employee of a man named Thomas Slayer who was the Treasurer of the Newfoundland Company. The Newfoundland Company needed someone that knew the terrain and could speak the different dialects of the Indians and they took Squanto to be that person. They wanted to establish a fur trading link with the Indians in the New World. After Squanto had learned enough English they sent him to Newfoundland to translate and establish liaison with the Indians. After Squanto had been in Newfoundland for a few years, he met a sailing captain name John Devers that was with John Smith on his visit to Plimouth. Squanto talked himself into accompanying Devers on his next trip to Plimouth so he could get to see his relatives that he had not seen for several years. Squanto finally did get back to Plimouth in 1619. The downside was that his village had been wiped out by an epidemic in 1618-1619, probably contracted from John Smith’s group, and all of his relatives had died of either Tuberculosis or Smallpox. He arrived just in time because the Mayflower arrived the next year. The Nauset Indians had not forgotten what Thomas Hart had done with the kidnapping of some their own and any suggestion that they should trade with the Europeans that Squanto knew was coming was met with scorn, especially by the most powerful chief in the area. That would be Massasoit, the Chief of the Wampanoag Confederation. But fortunately for the Pilgrims, Squanto was there to mediate. The Pilgrims finally arrived and anchored in Cape Cod Bay. It was not near any rock name Plimouth. Plimouth is a name given to the area by John Smith. From the git-go the Pilgrims had a hell of a time with the Indians but the Indians were fearful of their firearms and thought the Europeans could unleash an epidemic at will so they were very careful with them. The Mayflower had landed in November of 1620 and went through a hell of a winter with many of the pilgrims dying of exposure and starvation and all would have been wiped out if they had not received some help from the Indians at the behest of Squanto. The next spring the Indians helped the Pilgrims with gardening, especially maize or corn, and the local edible game and seafood. Squanto was responsible for this education also. The Harvest of 1621 saw the Pilgrims led by Governor William Bradford and the Indians led by Squanto and Massasoit exchange gifts of food and game. This was essentially the first Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims were not out of the woods yet because farther expansion westward led them into other tribe’s territories and fights ensued but after the first harvest, they knew they were here to stay. As I have said many times before, I have to believe that the United States was ordained to be here by a higher power because when our ancestors needed guidance someone always shows up. This time it was a strong administrator like William Bradford and a take-no-prisoners type military man like the diminutive Mile Standish and first and foremost it was Squanto. Miles Standish was so short that he had to cut six inches off his sword to keep it from dragging the ground but his lack of altitude was more than compensated by his fiery attitude. Squanto got too big for his britches and began extorting his people by threatening to have them shot or come down with a disease if they did not pay him off. Massasoit told Bradford the he wanted Squanto’s head because of the mistreatment of his people. Bradford had Squanto headed to the gallows when a ship showed up on the horizon and Bradford demurred, Bradford knew if it was more Pilgrims and Squanto would be essential to their survival. There was indeed more Pilgrims aboard the ship Fortune and Squanto’s life was spared but Bradford’s warning to stop the shit with the extortion had an effect.

Happy Thanksgiving