What really happened at the very first Thanksgiving?

The Pilgrims arrived in the New World in 1620 due to a combination of religious conviction and economic necessity.

As members of a separatist group within the Puritan movement, they sought to distance themselves from the Church of England, which they believed was corrupted by practices they considered unscriptural.

Their initial efforts to secure religious freedom led them to the Netherlands in 1608, where they lived in Leiden.

However, the Pilgrims faced significant challenges in their new home. They struggled to integrate into Dutch society, and economic opportunities were limited, which led to concerns about their children losing their English identity and religious values.

These difficulties motivated them to seek a more stable and independent environment where they could establish a community built on their beliefs. 

Due to the colonization efforts supported by English charters, the New World offered the Pilgrims an opportunity to create such a community.

With financial backing from the Virginia Company, the Pilgrims secured a charter to settle in the northern part of the company's territory.

This agreement provided them with the legal framework to establish a colony while allowing them the autonomy they sought for their religious practices.

Their voyage aboard the Mayflower in 1620 was a direct consequence of these arrangements. However, their journey was incredibly difficult.

After departing in September, the Pilgrims endured treacherous conditions at sea, which lasted over two months.

Upon arrival, they found themselves far north of their intended destination, landing at Cape Cod on the shores of what is now Massachusetts, rather than the Virginia Company's land. 

Upon their arrival at Cape Cod, they explored the area extensively, searching for a suitable location to build their settlement.

The conditions proved less favorable due to sandy soil and a lack of fresh water, which led them to continue their exploration.

By December 1620, they identified a location further inland, previously known as Patuxet, which had been the site of an abandoned Indigenous village.

The land at Patuxet was appealing because it featured cleared fields and access to a natural harbor.

The Pilgrims named their settlement Plymouth, after the English port from which they had last departed.

However, in December 1620, the Pilgrims lacked sufficient shelter, food, and knowledge of the local environment, so they faced immediate and severe challenges.

The supplies they brought from England, intended to sustain them, dwindled quickly, leaving many to survive on meager rations of dried meat and hardtack.

Living in cramped and unsanitary conditions, they were exposed to cold, damp air, which weakened their health and led to outbreaks of disease.

By February 1621, many had succumbed to scurvy, pneumonia, and other illnesses.

Out of the 102 settlers who had initially set sail, only about half survived the winter. 

For hundreds of years before the arrival of European settlers, the Wampanoag people lived along the southeastern coast of present-day Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Their name meant ‘People of the First Light’. They lived in well-organized villages and practiced a seasonal lifestyle, moving between coastal and inland areas to hunt, fish, and farm.

The Wampanoag diet was based upon cultivated crops such as corn, beans, and squash.

They supplemented their farming with hunting deer and turkey and fishing for herring and shellfish.

Their society was structured around extended families, and they lived in dome-shaped homes called wetus, which were constructed from bark and saplings. 

Before the Pilgrims arrived, European diseases had already swept through the Indigenous populations of the region.

Introduced by explorers and traders in the decades prior, epidemics such as smallpox and measles ravaged communities that had no immunity to these foreign pathogens.

Entire villages were decimated, leaving a haunting silence where thriving societies had existed.

For the Wampanoag, this devastation was catastrophic, with an estimated 75% of their population lost by 1620.

Weakened by loss, Indigenous leaders recognized both the risks and potential opportunities presented by the arrival of European settlers. 

By the early 17th century, the Wampanoag Confederacy, which was a loose alliance of villages, was led by Massasoit, who was based in the village of Sowams.

The confederacy maintained complex political relationships with neighboring tribes, including the Narragansett and the Pequot, which were sometimes cooperative and other times hostile. 

In March 1621, the Pilgrims were introduced to Massasoit. Massasoit understood the potential benefits of forming an alliance with the Pilgrims.

His people, who were already greatly weakened by recent epidemics, faced threats from neighboring tribes such as the Narragansett.

Hoping to form an agreement with the settlers, Massasoit hoped that mutual protection would provide a chance to stabilize his position in the region.

The Pilgrims, who led by Governor William Bradford, recognized their dependence on Indigenous knowledge and resources for survival. 

Tisquantum, known simply as Squanto, who was a member of the Patuxet tribe, who had previously captured and enslaved by English explorers, had spent years in Europe, where he learned English.

His linguistic skills and understanding of European customs made him an indispensable intermediary in these first discussions.

Returning to his homeland in 1619, Squanto discovered his entire village wiped out by disease. Despite this personal tragedy, he chose to assist the Pilgrims.

He taught them essential agricultural techniques, such as planting corn with fish for fertilizer, and shared survival strategies that were crucial in an unfamiliar environment.

This knowledge proved invaluable, as it allowed the Pilgrims to prepare for the upcoming growing season and establish a more sustainable food supply.

As a result, the Pilgrims were able to recover from their initial hardships and lay the foundation for their settlement. 

The eventual alliance between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag was pragmatic and delicate.

Bradford, who was deeply committed to ensuring the colony’s survival, relied on the trust established through Squanto and the diplomatic relationship with Massasoit.

The agreement was formalized in March and included mutual defense and trade arrangements. 

As the autumn of 1621 began, the Pilgrims, who had survived their first harrowing year in Plymouth, sought to express gratitude for their successful harvest, which was made possible through guidance from Squanto and the contributions of the Wampanoag.

They invited the Wampanoag to a feast over several days, likely in late September or early October, as the settlers celebrated their survival.

The location provided a sheltered environment where the Pilgrims had begun to establish their settlement.

The timing of the feast coincided with traditional English harvest festivals, merging old customs with the new circumstances of the New World. 

Approximately 50 Pilgrims and 90 Wampanoag participated in this gathering. The Wampanoag, led by Massasoit, contributed to the event by bringing provisions.

The Pilgrims prepared dishes using their limited supplies. Though it lacked the formal rituals and symbolism later associated with Thanksgiving, it served as a moment of shared purpose and tentative peace. 

Based on historical accounts and the local resources available in 1621, the menu of the first Thanksgiving likely reflected the natural abundance of the region and the ingenuity of both the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag.

Wildfowl, which included ducks, geese, and possibly turkeys, was a significant feature of the meal, as Edward Winslow’s writings mentioned the Pilgrims’ success in hunting birds.

Fish, particularly cod and bass, was plentiful in nearby waters, and shellfish such as clams and mussels provided additional sustenance.

The Wampanoag contributed five freshly hunted deer, which meant venison was a centerpiece of the feast.

Local crops like corn, prepared as a porridge known as nasaump, and possibly squash or beans, which were staples of Indigenous agriculture, supplemented the meal. 

However, many elements of the modern Thanksgiving meal were absent. The Pilgrims did not have access to ingredients such as sugar, which meant there were no sweet desserts like pies.

Potatoes, which originated in South America, had not yet become a part of European or colonial diets, and there were no cranberry sauces since sweeteners were scarce.

Bread made from wheat, a common feature of later feasts, was unlikely due to the Pilgrims’ limited grain supplies.

Instead, their grain stores consisted of cornmeal, which was a vital but simple staple.

The lack of ovens in Plymouth meant that most dishes were boiled or stewed. 

In March 1623, the Pilgrims provided critical assistance to the Wampanoag when Massasoit fell gravely ill.

Recognizing the importance of their relationship, Edward Winslow, one of the Pilgrims’ leaders, traveled to Massasoit’s village to offer aid.

When there, he prepared a remedy using herbal medicine and broth, which was based on knowledge the Pilgrims had acquired from both their European traditions and local practices.

Massasoit recovered, which reinforced the trust between the two groups and demonstrated the settlers’ willingness to support their allies in moments of need.

In the same year, the Pilgrims also assisted the Wampanoag during a conflict with the Narragansett, a neighboring tribe.

The Narragansett had sought to dominate the region. The Pilgrims provided strategic counsel to Massasoit and his warriors, who were defending their territory. 

However, for the Pilgrims, the alliance laid the groundwork for future expansion.

The settlers, though initially weak and reliant on Indigenous support, came from a culture that viewed land ownership and permanent settlement as paramount.

This worldview was in stark contrast to the Wampanoag’s approach to land as a communal resource.

The Pilgrims’ written agreements, which included the treaty signed with Massasoit in 1621, would be based upon European legal and political structures that were unfamiliar to the Wampanoag.

Ultimately, these agreements favored the Pilgrims' interests, as they formalized territorial claims and established frameworks for trade and mutual defense.

Over time, the settlers’ growing population and military organization shifted the balance further in their favor, reinforcing the asymmetry in their relationship. 

Over time, the first Thanksgiving became enveloped in romanticized narratives that obscured its historical reality.

Early depictions of the event often emphasized themes of harmony and shared gratitude, presenting it as an idyllic gathering that reflected universal goodwill between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag.

However, these accounts ignored the complexities and tensions that defined their relationship.

Documented records, such as those written by Edward Winslow, described a practical and cooperative event. 

During the 19th century, the mythologizing of Thanksgiving gained momentum as American culture sought to create unifying national narratives.

As a result, the event was reimagined as a foundational story of shared values, emphasizing themes of gratitude and abundance.

This version of Thanksgiving, which included imagery of peaceful feasting and familial unity, was shaped more by the social and political climate of the United States than by historical evidence.

Influential figures, including Sarah Josepha Hale, who was an advocate for establishing Thanksgiving as a national holiday, promoted this idealized version of the event.

Her efforts led to Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation in 1863, which formalized Thanksgiving as a national observance during the Civil War, when encouraging unity was a critical goal. 

These myths, perpetuated in art, literature, and education, created a simplified and often inaccurate understanding of the first Thanksgiving.

The absence of details about the power imbalances between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag, or the broader impact of colonization on Indigenous peoples, contributed to a distorted perception of the event.