Myths of American History – Seven – Thanksgiving

The first Thanksgiving celebration held on American soil was on September 8, 1565 in Saint Augustine, Florida by the Spanish.  The Thanksgiving Feast Americans venerate,  occurred on the Plymouth Plantation, in 1621 which has become a major American myth.

The Pilgrims survived in the colony of Plymouth due to a Native American called Tisquantum (Squanto). 
He had been captured as a slave by George Weymouth.

To encourage Native American slavery, Weymouth sent ’samples’ back to England. Tisquantum was among them. It was during his time as a slave in England Tisquantum was taught English.

Tisquantum was returned to America in 1612  by Captain John Smith, who released him from bondage
On his village, in 1614 Tisquantum was kidnapped by another Englishman, Thomas Hunt,  who was
one of John Smith’s lieutenants. Hunt carried Tisquantum and other Native Americans to Málaga in
Spain to be sold fairly cheaply as a slave.
 
Local friars, who were advocating  Christianising the native Americans took these slaves,  Tisquantum
included, for that purpose.

Tisquantum  managed to leave Spain, get to London, where he lived with and worked for John Slany, a shipbuilder, who took Tisquantum with him when he sailed to Cuper’s Cove, Newfoundland.

Tisquantum again tried to get home, wanting to join an expedition to that part of the North American
east coast from where he had been taken,  but that plan fell through and he returned to England in
1618.

In 1619 Tisquantum was able to return to his homeland. His tribe, the Patuxet, as well as the majority of coastal New England tribes,  had been decimated the year before by a plague, possibly smallpox.

At this point, Squanto had little choice but to remain with Pilgrims at the site of his former village,
which the English named Plymouth.  Because he could speak English he could explain techniques
to increase food production.

Without him, the English would not have survived in the New World.

In 1621 the Thanksgiving feast was held and lasted three days, providing enough food for 53 pilgrims
and 90 Indians. Turkey was one of the many fowl that were hunted and prepared. There was no pumpkin
pie but boiled pumpkin, as well as other vegetables and berries, though cranberries had not as yet been introduced.

Shortly after, Squanto lost the trust of the English and the Wampanoag Indians. Both sides considered
him the spy of the other, and it is believed he was poisoned.

He died in 1622 in Chatham, Massachusettes and was buried in an unmarked grave.

This is the true story of Thanksgiving.