Nathaniel Philbrick sets the historic record straight with his well-documented book, the “Mayflower.” In it, he covers the 12 years before the Puritans boarded the Mayflower and the 50 years after they landed in the New World, dispelling the fairy tale accounts referenced in many classroom teaching materials.For example, Philbrook points out in the book that Plymouth Rock is actually a bogus location. The pilgrims themselves were neither tolerant nor kind but used biblical scriptures to justify their use of violence.The bibliographic references Philbrick used to compile the “Mayflower” are extensive and include a manuscript written by William Bradford and Edward Winslow. The manuscript is Bradford and Winslow’s first-hand account of the voyage across the ocean and the first 13 months in America. Bradford referred to the group as pilgrims, and Winslow described the celebration that has been referred to as the first Thanksgiving. The manuscript made its way back to England on the return voyage of the Fortune, which was the second ship to arrive at Plymouth. The Fortune landed about a month after the “Thanksgiving” celebration.It all began when the Puritans, a radical arm of the English Separatists, believed in the strict interpretation of the Bible. Fleeing religious persecution in England, they immigrated to Leiden, Holland in 1608. But as their children began to absorb Dutch culture over the years, the Puritans decided to find a new home where they could practice their religion and raise their families in an English culture.Their trip to the New World aboard the Mayflower ran into trouble from the start. In July 1620, the pilgrims left Holland on board a ship named the Speedwell. Their plan was to sail to Southampton to meet up with the Mayflower, and both ships would continue on to the New World. But the Speedwell turned out to be a leaky sieve that didn’t make it past Dartmouth. The Speedwell was eventually abandoned, and its passengers were stuffed onto the Mayflower, which began its ocean journey on Sept. 6, 1620.One fact left out of the traditional story of the Mayflower is that not all the passengers aboard the ship were fleeing religious persecution. About half the passengers, called “Strangers” by William Bradford’s congregation from Leiden, had their own reasons for making the journey. Before the ship reached its destination, the Strangers decided they didn’t like being ruled by a group of religious fanatics. Stephen Hopkins, one of their leaders, insisted that when they landed they would not follow the leadership of the Puritans.Christopher Martin, the governor of the Mayflower, understood the colony wouldn’t last if the group was split, which prompted the Mayflower Compact, a document of unification. While the document mentions God, it creates a civil, political body for the enactment of “just and equal laws, ordinance, acts, constitutions, and offices.” Before landing, 41 men signed the compact and elected John Carver their governor.Passengers first went ashore in what is today known as Provincetown, where they gathered shellfish, made repairs to the Mayflower and pilfered corn from a storage pit they found on the Cape.The group re-boarded the ship after they didn’t find a suitable spot to build a settlement. They continued searching the coastline and ended up in an area they called Plymouth, named after the last port they left in England.Nowhere in Bradford’s account is there a report that the group stepped out onto a rock – something the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce neglects to tell visitors today.Three years before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, 90 percent of the Indian population around Massachusetts was wiped out by a disease that may have been introduced by French traders.Which may have been a blessing to the pilgrims.Massasoit, leader of the Pokanokets tribe, had lost most of his people to the disease, and they were under attack by the Narragansett Indians. He most likely decided to maintain peace (although fragile) with the gun-toting newcomers simply because of the decline of his tribe.The pact between the pilgrims and Massasoit disallowed attacks on each other and forbade stealing between the two groups. It also included a promise to come to one another’s aid in the event that their enemies started an unjust war. One historical fact that remains unshaken is how the pilgrims benefited from Massasoit’s knowledge. Without the alliance, they would not have made it through the first winter.But the alliance caused problems between the settlers and the much stronger Narragansett Indians, forcing the colonists to build an 8-foot-high wall around their entire settlement.In 1675, a slave ship carrying 178 Indians left Plymouth; no native man or boy over the age of 14 was allowed to live in the colony. Fifty-six years after the Mayflower landed and the pilgrims were saved by Massasoit, the Pokanokets were defeated in a devastating war known as “King Philips War.” And Philbrick reports the pilgrims “had taken conscious, methodical measures to purge the land of its people.”About ThanksgivingAfter the bean, squash and corn corps were harvested, Bradford decided a celebration was in order. However, the term “Thanksgiving” was never used by the pilgrims and wasn’t even invented until the 19th century, according the book. The gathering that did take place was similar to an English harvest festival, a non-religious celebration dating back to the Middle Ages, which could be more accurately described as a drunken free-for-all.The pilgrims did not celebrate Christmas, but the Strangers in the group did, saying it was “against their consciences” to work on Christmas Day. To keep the peace, Bradford reluctantly gave them the day off, later revoking the decision after he found them enjoying themselves instead of praying.Historical facts are often glossed over when no one wants to recall the harsh realities of truth. Philbrick, however, brings forth the facts about those who traveled on the Mayflower, removes the polish collected over the centuries and presents a view of all involved as real human beings.Talkin’ TurkeyFrom turkeys to cranberries – in the millionsSource: U.S. Census Bureau
- 256 million: The preliminary estimate of the number of turkeys raised in the United States in 2005. That’s down 3 percent from 2004. The turkeys produced in 2004 weighed 7.3 billion pounds altogether and were valued at $3.1 billion.
- 44.5 million: The preliminary estimate of the number of turkeys Minnesota expects to raise in 2005. The Gopher State is tops in turkey production followed by North Carolina (36 million), Arkansas (29 million), Virginia (21 million), Missouri (20.5 million) and California (15.1 million). These six states together will probably account for about 65 percent of U. S. turkeys produced in 2005.
- 649 million pounds: The forecast for U.S. cranberry production in 2005, up 5 percent from 2004. Wisconsin is expected to lead all states in the production of cranberries, with 367 million pounds.
- 1.6 billion pounds: The total weight of sweet potatoes – another popular Thanksgiving side dish – produced in the United States in 2004. North Carolina (688 million pounds) produced more sweet potatoes than any other state.
- 998 million pounds: Total pumpkin production of major pumpkin-producing states in 2004. Illinois, with a production of 457 million pounds, led the country. Pumpkin patches in California, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York each produced at least 70 million pounds worth of pumpkins. The value of all the pumpkins produced by these states was about $100 million.
- 13.7 pounds: The quantity of turkey consumed by the typical American in 2003 and, if tradition holds true, a hearty helping of it was devoured at Thanksgiving time. On the other hand, per capita sweet potato consumption was 4.7 pounds.
- $1: Cost per pound of a frozen whole turkey in December 2004. (From the upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2006)
- 3: Number of places in the United States named after the holiday’s traditional main course. Turkey, Texas, was the most populous in 2004, with 496 residents; followed by Turkey Creek, La. (357); and Turkey, N.C. (267). There also are 16 townships around the country named Turkey; three in Kansas.
- Zero: the number of turkeys who look forward to Thanksgiving
