During the cool weeks of November that lead
up to Thanksgiving Day there is great delight
in many American homes when the exciting stories
of the Pilgrims are read. Who were these people
and what motivated them to endure such grievous
hardships?
The Pilgrims were Separatist Christians originating
from the farmland around Scrooby in northern
England. Because of their sincere desire to
regulate their worship and lives by the Bible
alone they experienced persecution and imprisonment
during the reign of King James. At the direction
of their pastor, Rev. Richard Clifton, they
determined to flee England in search of religious
freedom. They finally succeeded in 1609 after
several failed attempts. The Pilgrims were
also accompanied by Rev. John Robinson, their
teacher, and Elder William Brewster. The Pilgrims
initially settled in Amsterdam, Holland, but
they found it difficult to remain there and
moved to Leyden where they lived for ten years.
When the explorations of Henry Hudson and
John Smith became widely known, the Pilgrims
determined to attempt the dangerous journey
to the New World. They sincerely believed
that they could better protect their children
from worldly influences, preserve their English
ways, and worship God in the manner they saw
fit in the wilderness than in Holland.
A mixed colony of Saints (Pilgrims) and Strangers
(fellow-Englishmen) was formed under the auspices
of the Merchant Adventurers in London. Terms
were negotiated and signed, and the expedition
set off in two ships. The Speedwell quickly
proved to be less than seaworthy and the Pilgrims
were forced to reduce their numbers and press
as many as possible into the "between deck" of the Mayflower.
After a lengthy and arduous voyage across
the stormy Atlantic they reached the New World
much farther north than they had intended.
Instead of the fertile shores of Virginia,
they landed on the rocky barren coast of Cape
Cod in New England. Since they were beyond
the immediate jurisdiction of the Virginia
Colony they determined to draft governing
principles to better order their own settlement
and solemnly composed the Mayflower Compact.
All of the Saints signed, but not all of the
Strangers.
In the name of God, Amen. We whose names
are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our
dread sovereign lord, King James, by the grace
of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland,
King, Defender of the Faith, etc. having undertaken
for the glory of God, and advancement of the
Christian faith, and honor of our king and
country, a voyage to plant the first colony
in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these
presents solemnly and mutually in the presence
of God, and of one another, covenant and combine
ourselves into a civil body politic, for our
better ordering and preservation, and the
furtherance of the ends aforesaid and by virtue
hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such
just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions,
and offices, from time to time, as shall be
thought most meet and convenient for the general
use of the Colony, unto which we promise all
due submission and obedience. In witness whereof
we have here underscribed our names at Cape
Cod, 11th of November, in the year of the
reign of our sovereign lord, King James of
England, France and Ireland the eighteenth,
and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. A.D. 1620
(William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation,
1651)
Once they had
landed, they immediately set off to replenish
their food and water supplies. The Lord providentially
led them to mounds of corn buried by local
Indians. They also sailed west finding Plymouth
Bay where they landed on December 21, 1620
at Plymouth Rock. Here they steadfastly carved
their colony out of a hostile wilderness by
erecting a squat common house for defense
atop the nearest hill and a short row of small
rustic cabins in which several families lived.
This was not a comfortable English hamlet,
but the Pilgrims insisted that, "It is
not with us as with other men whom small things
can discourage, or small discontentments cause
(us) to wish (ourselves) at home again".These
people were made of sterner stuff.
The first winter was exceedingly difficult
for the Pilgrims. Out 102 settlers exactly
one half died from sickness before those disease-ridden
months were completely over. The dead were
buried at night in unmarked graves so that
the Indians could not see how small their
company had actually become. Having survived
the winter, the following March they were
visited by the Indian, Samoset. When he entered
their tiny village he cried out in English "Welcome Englishmen! Do you have any beer?" The settlers were astonished to be greeted
by an English-speaking Indian!
Later, Samoset told them about his friend
Squanto who spoke even better English. Squanto
was clearly God's gift to the Pilgrims. Governor
William Bradford later referred to him as,
"a special instrument sent of God for
their good, beyond their expectation." Squanto
showed them how to raise corn, catch fish
in the sea, and tread-out freshwater eels
in the mudflats. Most importantly, he showed
them how to survive the rigors of the American
wilderness. With Squanto's help the Pilgrims
were able to make a lasting peace with Massasoit,
the local Indian chief, for over fifty years.
The first Thanksgiving Day feast took place
in November, 1621 after the Pilgrims brought
in a substantial harvest. The Wampanoag tribe
who had helped them so kindly was also welcomed
to their burgeoning table. Edward Winslow,
the assistant to Governor William Bradford,
wrote about that special day in his brief
history of Plymouth Colony:
Our harvest being
gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling,
so that we might after a special manner rejoice
together after we had gathered the fruit of
our labors. They four in one day killed as
much fowl as, with a little outside help beside,
served the company almost a week. At which
time, amongst other recreations, we exercised
our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst
us, and among the rest their great king Massasoit,
with some ninety men, whom for three days
we entertained and feasted, and they went
out and killed five deer, which they brought
to the plantation and bestowed on our governor,
and upon the captain and others. And although
it be not always so plentiful as it was at
this time with us, yet by the goodness of
God, we are so far from want that we often
wish you partakers of our plenty.
(Mourt's
Relation, 1622)
Indeed, there was so much to thank God for!
The Lord's promise is certainly true, "He
provides food for those who fear him; he remembers
his covenant forever."Psalm 111:5
Resources for
Further Study:
Bradford,
William. Of Plymouth Plantation.
Reprint, San Antonio, TX: co-published by
Vision Forum & Mantle Ministries, 1988.
Brown, John. The Pilgrim
Fathers of New England and their Puritan Successors.
London, England: The Religious Tract Society,
1895.
Foster, Marshall, and Swanson, Mary-Elaine.
The American Covenant: The Untold
Story (rev. edit.). Santa Barbara, CA:
co-published by The Foundation for Christian
Self-Government (1981), and the Mayflower
Institute (1983).
Heath, Dwight B., ed. Mourt's
Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth.
Reprint, Cambridge, MA: Applewood Books, 1986.
Jehle, Dr. Paul. Plymouth
in the Words of Her Founders. San Antonio,
TX: Vision Forum, 2002.
Willison,
George F. Saints and Strangers.
New York, NY: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1945.
