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<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 The real First Thanksgiving -in Jamestown<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n I am a Masterpiece Theater<\/strong> junkie.\u00a0 I think I’ve watched every program they’ve broadcast, from the divine Upstairs, Downstairs<\/em> to the questionable Press<\/em>.\u00a0 One of my favorite contemporary series is Jamestown.<\/em>\u00a0 It so fascinated me that I decided to do some research and read a bit more about it.\u00a0 So I bought the book,\u00a0<\/strong>Marooned: Jamestown, Shipwreck, and a New History of America\u2019s Origin,<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>by James Kelly.\u00a0 Not only was it an exciting tale of intrigue, human behavior and the founding of our current form of government, it contradicted just about everything I learned in school about America’s “first” colony. But wait a minute, wasn’t Plymouth Rock the site of our first colony?\u00a0 I’ve been eating two pieces of pumpkin pie for years as a tribute to the Pilgrims’ founding of our nation.\u00a0 Well, according to Mr. Kelly – not so fast.\u00a0 Turns out, like a lot of history, the story of the Mayflower settlers vs. those in Jamestown was colored by the fact that winners write the history books.\u00a0 So, if like me, you might be interested in the following fast facts.<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The beautiful Pocahontas<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n It was at this point John Smith,<\/strong> rose as the leader of the remaining settlers and forged a relationship with the Chief and his daughter, Pocahontas<\/strong>.\u00a0 Pocahontas saved Smith’s life when he was a captive of the Algonquians and their relationship was the basis of a peaceful decade of trade between the settlers and Native Americans.\u00a0 You remember all those pictures you saw in textbooks of the “first” Thanksgiving in 1621?\u00a0 John Smith was actually the one who broke bread (okay, it was corn but you get the idea) fourteen years prior to that.<\/li>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Captain John Smith<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n I could go on and on but by now I know you’re weeping with boredom.\u00a0 Let me just finish with this – why do we celebrate the Pilgrims<\/strong> each November rather than the settlers of Jamestown?\u00a0 As I mentioned at the beginning, it is in large part due to the old adage, “the winners write history”.\u00a0 Jamestown, in the form of John Smith and Pocahontas, became part of southern culture.\u00a0<\/strong> John Smith wrote a book, General History<\/em>, about his experiences but by the mid-1800’s\u00a0 Northern scholars, mostly from Massachusetts, began attacking Smith’s credibility.\u00a0 In the 1840’s the well-written description of the Mayflower settlement, Of Plimouth Planation<\/em>, was discovered and was mass produced in 1856.\u00a0 Thanksgiving was first celebrated as a national holiday in 1863,<\/strong> as a day to thank God for the advancing army and navy of the Union.\u00a0 The Union victory gave New England a decisive moral advantage for the next several generations as no one was going to look to the South for a story about America’s birth.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I hope this peaks your interest a bit in Jamestown.\u00a0 Or not.\u00a0 I understand not everyone is as interested in this stuff as I am.\u00a0 There is so much to discover in this story but even if you don’t read any more about it you might toast those poor souls<\/strong> who founded Jamestown next Thursday.\u00a0 It’s as good an excuse as any to have another glass of wine.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Suzanne Sparrow Watson I am a Masterpiece Theater junkie.\u00a0 I think I’ve watched every program they’ve broadcast, from the divine Upstairs, Downstairs to the questionable Press.\u00a0 One of my favorite contemporary series is Jamestown.\u00a0 It so fascinated me that … read more\n
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