The Pilgrims and America's First Thanksgiving

The Pilgrims and America's First Thanksgiving The Pilgrims, who celebrated the first thanksgiving in America, were fleeing religious persecution in their native England. In 1609 a group of Pilgrims left England for the religious freedom in Holland where they lived and prospered. After a few years their children were speaking Dutch and had become attached to the Dutch way of life. This worried the Pilgrims. They considered the Dutch frivolous and their ideas a threat to their children's education and morality. So they decided to leave Holland and travel to the New World. Their trip was financed by a group of English investors, the Merchant Adventurers. It was agreed that the Pilgrims would be given passage and supplies in exchange for their working for their backers for 7 years. On September 6, 1620, the Pilgrims set sail from Holland on a ship called the Speedwell. The Speedwell sailed to England to join up with the Mayflower. The two ships began the voyage but the Speedwell leaked so badly it had to return to England. The 102 passengers regrouped on the Mayflower and it set sail. At first the weather was good, but then came "many fierce storms. The screaming wind, tossing the Mayflower, terrified the Pilgrims. They became exhausted. They were chilled to the bone. Waves of icy water would splash over the ill and frightened passengers, tasting like tears, their hearts pounding as mountains of water pounded the tiny ship. Water crashed about everywhere, and the foul smells reeking among the huddled people made them all sick. It was almost impossible to sleep and every ragged nerve begged for rest. There were no oilskins or rubber clothing for the crew or the passengers. The only way to dry out when they got wet was to wait until the sun came out. People never undressed or changed clothes all the way across. They set off in the worst time of the year, when storms raged over the Atlantic. The crowded living conditions, never being able to bathe, stay dry and having to wear the same clothes for two months was bad for their health. Food could not be cooked for fear the wooden Mayflower would catch on fire so they ate mostly dried meat and hard biscuits. Most were coughing and sick. The air in the crowded quarters was sickening. They were never warm and dry. On the long voyage the filthy smell was incredible. There were rats and cockroaches. The flour and ship's biscuits went moldy and full of weevils and maggots. Some ate their biscuits only when it was dark, so that they need not see the bugs in it. There was no bathroom – only buckets. They had no privacy. The tossing and rolling of the ship in rough water made most seasick. The vomit from the seasickness added to the horrible smell. Sea water kept their clothing and blankets wet through the entire voyage. Many passengers became sick and one person died by the time land was sighted. It took twice as long as it would have in good weather but they finally arrived after 66 days instead of the usual 30 on November 21st. The long trip led to many disagreements. After land was sighted a meeting was held and an agreement was worked out, called the Mayflower Compact, which guaranteed equality and unified the two groups. They joined together and named themselves the "Pilgrims." Although they had first sighted land off Cape Cod they did not settle until they arrived at Plymouth, which they named after Plymouth, England where they had set sail on the Mayflower. Plymouth offered an excellent harbor. A large brook offered a resource for fish. The Pilgrims biggest concern was attack by the local Native American Indians. But the Patuxets were a peaceful group and did not prove to be a threat. The first winter was devastating to the Pilgrims. The cold, snow and sleet was exceptionally heavy, interfering with the workers as they tried to construct their settlement. March brought warmer weather and the health of the Pilgrims improved, but many had died during the long winter. Of the 102 Pilgrims and crew who left England, less than 50 survived the first winter. On March 16, 1621 , what was to become an important event took place, an Indian brave walked into the Plymouth settlement. The Pilgrims were frightened until the Indian called out "Welcome" (in English!). His name was Samoset. He had learned English from the captains of fishing boats that had sailed off the coast. He also explained why there were no Indians at Plymouth. Plymouth was formerly the site of an Indian village, Patuxet. In 1617 all the Indians there had died of a disease. Samoset was from Maine and was visiting a tribe called the Wampanoag who lived about 40 miles away. Samoset explained that the tribe was led by a friend of his, Chief Massasoit. The Pilgrims were amazed to speak to him. Before he would answer their flood of questions, he asked for some food. They gave him some and also gave him a long red coat to wear because they were embarrassed because he was practically naked (like all religious people they were very modest). He told them that in 1617 the tribe that had lived where the Pilgrims had now settled had all died from some disease. Their tribe had been a large one and the Pilgrims thanked their lucky stars that they didn't have to fight anyone for Plymouth. After staying the night Samoset left the next day. He soon returned with another Indian named Squanto who spoke better English than Samoset. Squanto told the Pilgrims of his voyages across the ocean and his visits to England and Spain. It was in England where he had learned English. Squanto's importance to the Pilgrims was enormous and it can be said that they would not have survived without his help. It was Squanto who taught the Pilgrims how to tap the maple trees for sap. He taught them which plants were poisonous and which had medicinal powers. He taught them how to plant the Indian corn by heaping the earth into low mounds with several seeds and fish in each mound. The decaying fish fertilized the corn. He also taught them to plant other crops with the corn. Pilgrim boys and girls learned to do a lot, too. The boys learned to help with building houses, hunting for food, gathering crops from the field, making wooden pegs (nails), and gathering wood for the fire. Little girls learned to help with making candles, soap, and spices, washing clothes, cooking and serving meals, feeding the chickens, milking the goat, mucking the garden, polishing brass, and churning butter. Both boys and girls shelled corn, made mattresses from pine needles, feathers, or corn husks, gathered thatch for roofs, dug for clams, and got water from the spring. The harvest in October was very successful and the Pilgrims found themselves with enough food to put away for the winter. There was corn, fruits and vegetables, fish to be packed in salt, and meat to be cured over smoky fires. The Pilgrims had much to celebrate. They had built homes in the wilderness. They had raised enough crops to keep them alive during the long coming winter. Massasoit and the Pilgrims had also drawn up a treaty that promised peace with the Indian neighbors. They had beaten the odds and it was time to celebrate. The Pilgrim Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native Americans. They invited Squanto and the other Indians to join them in their celebration. Their chief, Massasoit, and 90 braves came to the celebration which lasted for 3 days. They played games, ran races, marched and played drums. The Indians demonstrated their skills with the bow and arrow and the Pilgrims demonstrated their musket skills. Exactly when the festival took place is uncertain, but it is believed the celebration took place in mid-October. There were 140 people – 90 Indians and 50 settlers.