Above Image: “The First Thanksgiving” (1912). Painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris. Public Domain.
From “History of South Jersey And How It Shaped America” by Seth Grossman.
In 1534, King Henry VIII and Parliament took control of all English churches away from the Pope. They created a new Church of England run by the King.
However, King Henry VIII was no Protestant. He never publicly supported Protestant doctrines. He broke with the Catholic church for personal reasons. The Pope had refused to give him a divorce so he could marry his mistress.
Above Above Image: (Dr. Robert Barnes) and his Fellow Prisoners Seeking Forgiveness” (1887) Illustration by Joseph Martin Kronheim. Published in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs illustrated by Kronheim, Public Domain.
Between 1509 and 1547, King Henry VIII arrested and executed at least 63 ministers, scholars and others for promoting Protestant doctrines or criticizing his church officials. Most were tied to a stake and burned alive for “heresy”. They included Dr. Robert Barnes and two Lutheran ministers. They were condemned, sentenced, and burned alive in 1540.
Roughly 200 other Protestants were executed later by King Edward VI, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and King James I. Many more had their lands and other property seized.
During the early 1600s, worshippers in a remote country village called Scrooby refused to let the King’s “rector” (parish priest) run their church. They chose their own ministers and developed their own teachings. They often held worship services in their homes.
They were called “Separatists” and they lived in fear. Some were dismissed from government positions. Others were arrested or threatened with arrest or seizure of their property. In 1609, many fled to the city of Leiden in Holland. However, they wanted their children to speak English and preserve their English culture.
In 1620, the King and Parliament chartered another “Virginia Company” to “plant” a second colony in North America. To attract settlers, they offered religious freedom as well as land and self-government. The “Separatists” of Leiden returned to England so they could settle in North America. They left on a ship named the Mayflower in 1620.
Severe storms took the Mayflower to Massachusetts. This was far north of the land owned by the Virginia Company. However, after exploring the area, its passengers agreed to settle there. Since their contract with the Virginia Company no longer applied, they made a written agreement on how to run the settlement themselves. That agreement is now known as The Mayflower Compact. Those settlers are now known as The Pilgrims.
Above Image: 1911 illustration of Tisquantum (“Squanto”) teaching the Plymouth colonists to plant maize.
The Pilgrims found many fields nearby that were already cleared and ready for planting. An American Indian named Squanto (Tisquantum) later approached them. Squanto spoke fluent English. He had been captured by English sailors years before, but later set free. When he returned to Massachusetts, he found that everyone in his tribe had died from a plague while he was away.
Squanto explained that the nearby fields had belonged to people in his tribe. He befriended the Pilgrims and taught them how to grow native crops like corn, beans and squash.
In spite of this, the Pilgrims failed to grow enough food. Nearly half died of hunger and disease during the first two years. As in Jamestown, there was no private ownership of land. All harvested crops were put into a common storehouse and distributed based on need.
During the third year, the Pilgrims divided the land and gave each family its own plot. As in Jamestown, everyone worked much longer and harder for themselves and their families than they did for the community. The Pilgrims then had “bounteous” harvests and gave thanks. They quickly became prosperous and self-sufficient.
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