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In 1621, there was a three-day harvest rejoicing. Contrary to the traditional fasting-and-prayer thanksgivings the pilgrims held from time to time, these harvest “rejoicings,” were celebrated with feasting, drinking, and contests and drills for the militia, which included target practice. By some accounts, gunshots from such drills could have prompted as many as 90 Wampanoag men to come to this 1621 rejoicing to aid the English in what the Wampanoag men thought was a battle, as a matter of diplomacy. Another diplomatic hypothesis puts Ousemequin and the Wampanoag people at the rejoicing because their crops had been planted next to the settlers’. Celebrating the harvest together could have been political statecraft, so to speak.
of the plagues, which had wiped out much of the Wampanoag people who’d previously lived on that land. After a century of violent encounters with the Europeans, the Wampanoags were not eager to welcome the new ship of settlers—far from it. However, because of their much-reduced population and their political concerns regarding neighboring, rival Native American tribes, they decided to attempt diplomacy to avoid further losses. Squanto, who had learned English while in captivity in England, was returned to Massachusetts in 1619. He served as a translator between the Wampanoag and the English settlers. With Squanto’s help, Wampanoag sachem (i.e., chief) Ousamequin brokered an entente with the pilgrims.
"After a century of violent encounters with the Europeans, the Wampanoags were not eager ...."
In 1637 and again in 1676, there were documented “thanksgivings,” but of the fasting-and-prayer variety. In the Protestant pilgrim tradition, a true thanksgiving necessitated quiet reflection. These two in particular seem to have been held in honor of English victories in major battles against Native Americans. The first, in 1637, marked the end of the Pequot War, wherein the English massacred the Pequot people. The second, in 1676, coincided with the end of King Philip’s War (also called the Great Narragansett War), one of the most