Life Lines
thanksgiving and divine providence
The roots of the traditional Thanksgiving celebration in the United States
are generally well known. The Pilgrims arrived on the Mayflower in 1620
and established the Plymouth Colony in what became Massachusetts. They
were saved from “the starving time” of two bitter winters that decimated their
numbers by a friendly Indian named Squanto who taught them how to plant
corn and squash, catch fish and lobsters, and live off the land.
Less well known is the remarkable back story of Squanto and the role of
Divine providence in giving added meaning to Thanksgiving.
Years before the Mayflower voyage, English ships had come to this same
area. In 1608 one of them also dropped anchor off Plymouth to trade with
the Indians. But the crew also took advantage of the friendly Patuxet Indians,
brutally capturing several and taking them to Spain, where they were sold into
slavery. One of them was Squanto.
He had the good fortune though of being bought by some Catholic friars
who treated him well and eventually freed him. He made his way to London,
where he learned the culture and language. In 1618 he was given passage back
to the New World in exchange for serving as an interpreter with the Indians.
He made his way back to his village only to find it deserted. The tribe had
been wiped out by disease, brought by the Europeans. So Squanto likely would
have died had he not been kidnapped. He lived alone in the woods. This is
when fate brought him to the desperate colonists – happy for the opportunity
to live in religious freedom but enormously challenged just to survive. They
desperately needed help.
You can imagine their surprise when Squanto walked out of the woods
speaking perfect English. Not only had he lived in London more recently
than they had but he also had grown up on this daunting land where they had
settled. He taught them how to survive and they gratefully adopted him as one
of their own.
He was the answer to their prayers. Indeed, Plymouth Colony Governor
William Bradford wrote in his journal that Squanto was “a special instrument
sent of God.”
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