The Mayflower | The Thanksgiving Myth | 5

The Wampanoag people had an extensive and profound history with Europeans, marked by both cooperation and exploitation, long before the Pilgrims arrived in what is now known as New England.

Wampanoags Traded With Europeans For a Century Before Pilgrims Arrived

The Wampanoags had contact with Europeans from 1524, which facilitated trade and cultural exchange for nearly a century before the Mayflower's 1620 arrival. For the Wampanoags, European goods such as metal tools, weaponry, cloth, and glass beads were valuable acquisitions. Conversely, the Europeans sought to obtain furs from the Wampanoags, such as fox, marten, and, most importantly, beaver pelts, as well as fresh food and water from the region.

Europeans Often Enslaved and Took Wampanoag People, Like Squanto, to Europe

Trade with Europeans, however, came with darker implications. Europeans desired not only to trade with the Wampanoags but also to capture them, sometimes to serve as interpreters or guides, other times with the intent of slavery. Squanto was among over 20 native people captured along the coast by Captain Thomas Hunt in 1614. Hunt sold his captives into slavery in Malaga, Spain. Squanto was eventually freed and made his way to England, where he lived with John Slaney and became involved in English colonization efforts.

Impact of Diseases on Wampanoag Before Pilgrims' Arrival

Smallpox-Like Epidemic Devastated Wampanoag, 1616-1619

Unfortunately, the exchange between Wampanoag and Europeans also had devastating consequences in terms of disease. An un ...

The relationship between the Wampanoags and Pilgrims began with cautious interaction, eventually leading to a pivotal alliance.

Wampanoags' Wary, Hostile Reception of Pilgrims

Upon the arrival of the Mayflower passengers, the Wampanoags were initially wary and divided over how to interact with the new European settlers. A few furtive encounters occurred where the Wampanoags avoided contact, but a band of Wampanoag warriors attacked an English exploring party camped on a beach. The potential for enslavement or harm played heavily on their minds.

Wampanoags Divided Over how to Deal With New European Settlers: Expel or Ally?

The Wampanoags did not have a unified response to the presence of the Pilgrims. Ussamaiquin (Massasoit) held councils with sachems from other communities to deliberate on a course of action. With the aid of shamans, or powwows, they aimed for consensus, yet some dissidents considered aligning with rivals like the Narragansetts to either eliminate or expel the English.

Squanto's Self-Serving Role as Translator and Diplomat

Squanto's role as a translator and intermediary came under scrutiny as suspicions arose that he had self-serving motivations. He manipulated both sides with false claims to increase his importance: to the Wampanoags, he asserted control over the English's purported ability to unleash plagues; to the English, he sowed misinformation to secure his status. These divisive actions led Massasoit to demand Squanto’s execution.

Massasoit's Pragmatic Alliance With Pilgrims

Ultimately, Massasoit decided to forge an alliance with the English to bolster Wampanoag independence from the increasingly aggressive Narragansetts, who were looking to subjugate weakened tribes. While the decision to ally with the English was not shared uniformly among the Wampanoags, those support ...

The breakdown of the alliance between the Wampanoag and Pilgrims due to English expansion and aggressive evangelization set in motion a series of events leading to King Philip's War.

Erosion of Wampanoag-Pilgrim Alliance With English Expansion

Massasoit's Sons Resisted Pilgrim Influence Due to Evangelization and Land Grabs

The sons of Massasoit, the Wampanoag sachem who had originally allied with the Pilgrims, resisted the influence of the colonists due to aggressive evangelization and deceitful land expansion practices. Massasoit's son, Wamsutta or Alexander, died under suspicious circumstances in 1662. His brother, Pometacom—known as King Philip—was well aware that they were losing tribute payers due to the English evangelical campaigns aimed at replacing allegiance to the Sachems with allegiance to the English colonies.

The methods of land acquisition at the time often involved deceitful practices where the English would get Native Americans drunk, causing them to sign land deeds which they had no intention of agreeing to while sober, contributing significantly to the decline of their land ownership.

Land and Resource Conflicts Escalated To King Philip's War, 1675

Tensions continued to rise as Metacomet, sought to build a multi-tribal coalition against the colonists, which eventually led to King Philip's War in 1675. The immediate cause of the war was an assertion of English authority and capital punishment over Native Americans within their territories, something the Native people would not tolerate.

Brutality and "Total War" Against Civilians in King Philip's War

English Used Native Allies Against Wampanoag, Executed Leader Metacomet

The brutality of King Philip's War was exacerbated by the colonist's use of "Total War" tactics, which included attacks on civilian populations. The English formed alliances with various native groups such as Christian Wampanoags, Mohicans, Pequots, Eastern Niantics, and the Mohawk to fight against the Wamp ...

The narrative surrounding the "First Thanksgiving" is challenged by historian David Silverman, revealing the complexities behind the event and its subsequent mythologization.

The 1621 Harvest Celebration Between Pilgrims and Wampanoags

Silverman reveals that the traditional narrative about the Pilgrims inviting the Wampanoags to a Thanksgiving feast is inaccurate. In reality, the English were celebrating their survival and harvest by resting and conducting militia practice, whose gunfire prompted the Wampanoags, their military allies, to arrive armed at Plymouth. The Wampanoags only joined the feast upon being asked by the English and contributed food to the celebration.

An Uneasy Alliance Against a Common Threat

This alliance between the Wampanoags and the English was uneasy but lasted for decades, including the time of the 1621 harvest celebration. However, this event was not of significant importance to those involved and was barely mentioned by contemporary sources, becoming mythologized only later.

Event Barely Mentioned by Participants, Later Mythologized

Silverman discusses how the alliance and the fall harvest celebration became part of the narrative about Pilgrims and Wampanoags, which was later constructed into the Thanksgiving myth.

Sanitized Portrayal of Pilgrim-Wampanoag Relationship in "First Thanksgiving" Myth

The "First Thanksgiving" myth is scrutinized for neglecting the harsh realities of colonialism that the Wampanoag people and other Native nations faced. Silverman denounces the mythical depiction of Native Americans welcoming the English as a simplistic portrayal that ignores the actual consequences of colonization and dispossession experienced by the Wampanoags.

Myth Obscures Colonial Violence, Exploitation, and Dispossession For Wampanoags and Other Native Nations

By marginalizing the violence and exploitation that characterized the Wampanoag-Pilgrim relations, the traditional Thanksgiving narrative fails to recognize the ...