Many people believe that the tradition of Thanksgiving originated when the Pilgrims arrived and Native people helped them to survive their first brutal winter. We were taught in school that the settlers invited the Indians to a big feast of brotherhood as a way of thanks.
This is not the case.
Keep in mind that the first settlers were not in Plymouth, MA but in Virginia.
The people that arrived on the big ship in Massachusetts were adventurers and Separatists. They were people who were looking for adventure and religious freedom. Two very different types of people.
The Native people were not afraid with their arrival since the shipped contained women and children. They knew that warring people would not bring women and children, but still they stayed to themselves and watched and didn't interfere.
They watched as the settlers diminished that winter from 100 to 51 and then they went to help them to survive.
Read More