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In the 17th century, the Christian Reformation and Split started centuries-long religious disputes throughout Europe. At that time, a group of British Puritans saw the corruption of the British church, and they were persecuted and suppressed by the church from time to time, so they decided to escape from the island and go to the American continent to live a new life. In 1620, hundreds of Pilgrims set off from Plymouth on the passenger ship “Mayflower” to the present-day Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, USA.

It is a pity that the good times did not last long. After they arrived in North America, they failed to adapt to the local climate and environment, and encountered severe cold in winter, so many people eventually contracted diseases under the hunger and cold died. Fortunately, with the help of the local aborigines, the survivors learned the skills of hunting and planting, and successfully survived the difficult days; At this time, the Indians are invited to celebrate and have a banquet to thank God for his grace.

The Black History of Thanksgiving

At first glance, it is easy for us to think that Thanksgiving is a day that symbolizes friendship and peace between new immigrants and natives in America. In fact, for Aboriginal people and their descendants, the holiday is an annual reminder of the tragic days when they were oppressed and killed.

The aborigines who helped the British Puritans through the difficult times—the Wampanoag (Wampanoag) took root in the Plymouth Colony earlier than the new immigrants. At that time, the population of their tribe was very large and it was estimated that there were nearly 10,000 people. But since the arrival of new immigrants from Europe, many were killed by the infectious diseases brought by the Puritans from Europe. In addition, since 1620, more and more Europeans immigrated to the American continent every year, which gradually caused a shortage of land in the Plymouth Colony.

When there were too many monks and too few porridge, those new European immigrants began to invade and rob the lands of the Wampanoags and Pequots, etc., and competed for resources for more than ten years Massacre thousands of aborigines at the same time as expanding the land. After fierce artillery and plague, the aboriginal tribe with nearly 10,000 people had only more than 1,000 survivors in 1637, and many of them were either sold as slaves or tortured. The exile also allowed the white people to become the new masters of the American continent.

The great benefactor who once helped the Puritans, Chief Massasoit, dreamed of peaceful coexistence with these “civilized” new immigrants, but unfortunately the short honeymoon period lasted only 20 years . And the new chief Metacomet who succeeded the tribe was worried that the aborigines would lose more land to their new neighbors, so he made up his mind to fight against the cruelty of the Europeans. The famous “King Philip’s War” broke out in 1675.

In the end, the chief Metacomet, known as King Philip, was defeated, and the war took away the As much as 30% of the British population and half of the Native Americans, Metacomet was executed and dismembered by the colonists. His head was nailed to the Plymouth Colony for 25 years, as an example to others, and became the ungrateful of these colonists , The bloody background behind the warmth of Thanksgiving.

For this reason, some Native Americans gave Thanksgiving Day names such as “Thanksgiving Massacre” and “Takesgiving”, in order to face up to and commemorate the indigenous ancestors for survival And the history of struggle. Every year on Thanksgiving, they will return to Plymouth, where the aborigines gathered, to beat drums, parade, pray and mourn.