Wednesday, November 24, 2021

Four centuries of turkey and cranberries

 It has been four hundred years since Jamestown and Plymouth Colony were established.

They came after many others had failed and in fact almost failed themselves.

Roanoke is not known to have been found again even though they left clues not followed even by the new grandfather of Virginia Dare. 

After a futile attempt to come back with supplies, he left without exploring any other options.

He spent the rest of his days illustrating. He was employed for the Queen of England, to illustrate the world around her with no cameras.

The Vikings had left after their long Vinland saga. And the Irish monks fleeing the Moors who went around burning the libraries and monasteries, were never heard from again, we think. 

As for Jamestown, they came as Huguenots fleeing French Catholics but through Britian. They had no options to go home as there was only death awaiting them. 

Barbados had been established in the Caribbean as the first landing spot of Columbus. 

But they had already encountered the Powhaten's who had survived De Soto's murderous group. 

De Soto is said to have captured and kidnapped the Queen of the Cherokee. They cut down everyone in their path, ending up in the Mississippi. 

Where upon the leader is said to have been gored by one of his own swine which he brought for food from the Old Country. 

Imagine, they forgot to take of the tusks of these vile things that the Hebrews were warned against. 

Pork is not eaten by Jewish people but often kept by the Muslims. 

The Conquistadors were a special breed. The Catholic King and Queen set about getting rid of all those who had been allowed before their riddance of the Aristocrats of the Islam faith, the true descendants of the Muhammed. 

The rest were said to be conversos, but rich Heiress were hard to pass up and many got married to men who then were sent to foreign parts.

Hence, many of the Conquistadors who were related to each other set up house on the other side of the Atlantic Pond.

De Sotos demise is only the word of his men who did survive. They meet a lot of people, including the Mississippi river natives. 

No one ever got to the city of Gold much less any of the other cities that did exist before Columbus made land fall.

However, there was as sudden demise along the Atlantic coast of the Indians due to disease.

Leaving the Iroquois league to control the Seaboard. The inner tribes had their own system which seemed to have also collapsed at the same time, that the Mayans were overrun by cruel Aztecs.

Well, the first two years of Jamestown, they had to deal with the aftermath of Pocahontas and Captain Smith falling in love. He was almost executed he said, then he left to sail around the world, never to return. 

Breaking her heart and making her family not to please to see more of him, stepping ashore. 

They starved after the first winter, having no ability to step outside to hunt during the bad times.

Thier servants they brought with them, had seven years to work off servitude to be free people.

They were not Africans nor Indians, but white people from Europe.

They ate them. When they died, the others set up a system of Cannibalism.

There was no way of getting around it, their staff and servants served them with their lives.

Just as slaves did in the Old Europe and New Roman empires. Thier captures were spared death in order to serve them to death.

It must have been a difficult decision, but what was available were those who were weak. 

Not all consumed the ones who died but those who did, kept it out of the history books.

Excavations have proven more informative than imagined. 

Some of the bodies show the signs of being eaten or consumed.

Nice, when spring came, they boarded their ships left to them, all together and probably at gun point of the leaders.

They were meet going down river by the group that had arrived but spent the winter in Barbados, not knowing the full problems facing the community left behind.

It took about two years for a return journey in those days.

Roanoke disappeared without a trace, not even excavations have found the people buried.

In Jamestown, they kept their secret for over three hundred years.

Forced to turn around again at gun point to return to their settlement, without a word as to why they should not.

They did not suffer the same fate the next winter. In fact, they had enough supplies when a privateer came along a decade later. 

The first exchange of Africans was made in America at Jamestown. It was illegal not to offer food to a ship or a settlement.

The ship claimed no rations, even though they turned out to be pirates, there was nothing the authorities could do about the fact they requested food.

Food they got, and left behind their bounty. Twenty slaves or captured and sold Africans. 

They were out of servants and accepted them gratefully.

There is no evidence they ate these servants or slaves.

They did however, agree to free them at the same seven-year time period. One couple got married, the first recorded marriage was recorded between Africans and a son was born to the couple a year later.

This was after Pocahontas was married to John Rolfe, whose wife had died that first winter. She gave birth to at least two children, but only the boy survived.

She did not survive the trip to England to meet the Queen. Smallpox, and not poisoning is what they claim killed her off.

As for Plymouth, they came after a failed attempt in Holland where many of their youths ran afoul of the freer environment. 

Fearing for their protestant faith, they regrouped in England and then set out for the new world.

They had no other option, since they were not welcomed in England. 

The Elizabethan time period was a little less strict than previously. 

King Henry had left the church and started his own, The Church of England, he had party after party.

The Shakespeare plays were written and displayed the type of life and acceptance of freedoms not seen as Truely Christian.

Plymouthians were supposed to go to Virgina, where Jamestown was already located. 

There first boat had to turn around and the Mayflower found itself far a flied. 

They landed and decided not to go any further. 

They were more fortunate, the Wampanoag had not experienced Captain Smith and his militia.

They provided the first or second winter when supplies ran short before the return of more settlers and supplies.

Probably it was a few fish and some corn. They did not grow wheat or oats. They did hunt and fish.

They might have had gourds or pumpkins, maybe someone had gotten a pheasant as the turkeys were called. Maybe, they had venison. 

They more than likely had a small meal together, and were invited to accept Christianity or else.

Stories of the Christian conversion being mandatory is not unknown. Many of the early families have members from the local natives. 

The Iroquois were a war people who keep peace and brought about a change within fifty years of the peaceable groups meeting together. 

Known as King Philips war, the grandsons of the first group raged war, maybe they did not understand they would stay if they feed them.

Maybe, they simply wanted everything they had without the Christian conversion as the Conquistadors in Mexico and Peru had a field day with the young Princesses, setting themselves up as Aristocrats once more. 

And now, the President is spending his vacation in Nantucket, the old stomping grounds of the first settlers to New England. 

He does this after having pardoned at least one turkey. 

One wonders if he might extend a pardon to others for the sake of peace and Christianity.

Although a Catholic President might not be interested in extending his hand to an Orthodox President, it is time to see an end to the hostilities towards Russia.

After all, without Trump being President, he would not know be President. Hillary was not likely to invite him inside the White House once she was positioned firmly behind the desk in the Oval Office.

He should count his blessing as well as the poor bird serving as food. 

At least he won't have to become a cannibal as some past rulers may have done during the really bad times of history. 





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