Desparate Crossing ::: History Channel Thanksgiving
Played Nov 24 in Guam on History Channel. Tried to be as accurate as possible. It is mixed with a show that followed it.
In 1619 Puritans set sail from Gloucester England, and landed in winter 1620 in what is now Plymouth Massachusetts.
Map Link: ===> http://tinyurl.com/y3caew
This author is a descendant of four Pilgrims, so can apply for membership in the Mayflower Society.
Only 52 settlers survived the first winter; only five women. The celebration of "Harvest Home" was the one pagan holiday the Puritans still kept. Puritans could only celebrate Fast Days, Thanksgiving Days, and Sabbaths. The Puritans considered their first Thanksgiving as a day in 1623 when rains saved their corn crop.
"Desparate Crossing" showed how the Puritans arrived in an area that had been severaly depopulated (90%) starting four years earlier. English had been visiting the New England coast for several decades.
The Wapanoag Tribe under Chief Massasoit sought an alliance with the Puritans. One of their tribe, Samoset, spoke a little English. He was replaced as translator by Squanto, who had spent more than 10 years with the English after escaping from slavery in Spanish by English sailors.
Edward Winslow seems to have been the best diplomat of the Puritans. Two or three of the Puritans slept in the same common house; an easy way to spread respiratory diseases.
John Billington and siblings caused alot of problems earlier. The Manomet near Boston gave the captive John to the Nauset tribe who lived on Cape Cod. The Nauset were so angry with the Puritans because other English had visited their coast frequently and kidnaped multiple men.
By fall of 1621, the following year, the Puritans chose to have a harvest festival. A group of locals attended, including King Massosoit and about 90 men. He was wearing a red coat given by the Pilgrims. Was it a used coat that contained germs? It appears the locals were not invited, but local protocol requiired that the Puritans feed the more than 100 visitors.
Edward Winslow, the diplomat to the locals, left in 1646 to England as a diplomat. He never returned.
Squanto sickens and dies in 1622, only two years later. He wanted to become a citizen.
Wm Bradford will remarry, and stay leader until he dies 1687. Both he and Massosoit will remain friends for life despite conflict with other members of their tribes.
John Robinson and Mr. Bruster left.
Wapanoags could not foresee the thousands of colonists who would arrive.
The show was co-hosted by Wapanoag nation members. My question is: How did the Wapanoag escape the mass deportation of indigenous Americans ordered by President Andrew Jackson. The Supreme Court had already declared the deportation illegal, since certain civilized Cherokee challenged it in Georgia court.
