The true story of Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims. - In the 1600s the Church of England Posted: Nov 23rd, 2017 - 1:23 am
under King James was persecuting people who didn't believe in the Church's absolute civil and spiritual authority. The government was god and if you challenge that, you were hunted down and imprisoned or killed.
So some fled to Holland and set up a community there. About 10 years later some of them (around 40), decided to sail to what they called the New World. So they left on the Mayflower with a leader named William Bradford. They set up the Mayflower Compact.
When they got here many of them died. In the spring the Indians taught them how to plant corn, how to fish for cod, skin beavers for coats. Life did improve but they didn’t prosper.
They needed to pay back their sponsors for the trip. So everything they produced went to a common store and each member of the community was entitled to an equal share of the gross. Nobody owned anything and it was owned by the community. Some people worked harder than others. This wasn't working so they eventually tore up the first contract and the harder you work, the greater were the fruits of your labors.
The Pilgrims began to prosper. Bradford writes about all of this in his journal. This is why the original Pilgrims gave thanks to God for helping them to survive and thrive.
They had more than enough. They paid their debts and invited the Indians to share. They set up trading posts. They traded with the Indians. Both Indians and Pilgrims prospered.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
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