America’s first Thanksgiving: Berkeley Plantation, Virginia 1619

The story of the Pilgrims and America’s first Thanksgiving illustrates the point that historians do not always get the facts right, or at times may choose to ignore research in lieu of a preferred narrative. The first recorded English Thanksgiving actually took place at “Berkeley 100” in Virginia in 1619, two years before the Pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts.

This shouldn’t detract from the events which took place in Massachusetts in 1621, because the Pilgrims' observance was significant, noble, and inspirational. They suffered the deaths of half of their company in their first winter, 1620 to 1621. The Pilgrims' Thanksgiving feast the following fall was a remarkable testimony of their faith and gratitude, especially in light of their significant losses.

​Nor should the account of the Pilgrims' Thanksgiving diminish the generally overlooked Thanksgiving held at “Berkeley 100,” later renamed Berkeley Plantation, on the James River in Virginia in 1619. The Berkeley settlement of 36 people was located on a “king's grant,” a tract of land given by the king, large enough to supply 100 of the king’s men (soldiers) for a year. Unlike the Pilgrims, the first Berkeley Thanksgiving in 1619 did not include a feast. It was a prayer meeting, which had been prescribed by the charter of the Berkeley Company, the financial backers of the new settlement.

​The charter stated that upon their arrival, which took place on Dec. 4, 1619, they were to have a prayer service of thanksgiving. It further stipulated that on subsequent anniversaries of that date,  it should “be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God.” The practice continued for several years until 1622, when Indians across the colony carried out a coordinated ambush of the colonists. The ensuing massacre in March of that year resulted in 347 deaths, including 11 at Berkeley. Following the attack, Berkeley plantation ceased operations, and over time, the records of the first Thanksgiving were lost until being rediscovered in the late 19th century.

​One of the facts that makes the Berkeley Thanksgiving compelling is the story of the leader of this new settlement, Captain John Woodlief. He previously arrived with an earlier expedition at Jamestown and survived the 1609-1610 “starving time.” Like the Pilgrims, those in Virginia suffered tragic losses. By the spring of 1610, decimated by starvation and disease, only 60 out of 300 survived. Captain Woodlief’s involvement speaks to their faith in the face of an uncertain future on that first Thanksgiving.

​For many years, elementary students in Virginia were taught that 1619 was a "red-letter year” because of several significant events that took place.  That year, the Virginia House of Burgesses became the first representative government in the English Colonies. The London Company transported 90 single women, potential wives, to Virginia to help stabilize and expand the colony, which had been predominantly settled by males. Thirdly, even though it resulted in tragic consequences, a captured Dutch ship introduced Africans to the colony, laying the foundation for slavery.

​Also, like the first Thanksgiving and typically overlooked, it was also a significant year in the religious history of the emerging nation. The newly created Virginia legislature adopted the Church of England as the state church of the colony. By doing so, it established the principle of a union between the two bodies, a model familiar to Englishmen. The generally accepted consensus of the era was that if religion is good for the people, then it was the responsibility of the government to provide religious services for the people.

​This legislation set in motion the struggle for religious freedom in the American colonies. In the following years, the Virginia colony alone would become home to religious refugees from Europe, including Puritans, Quakers, French Huguenots, and Catholics. By the time of the American Revolution, 150 years later, more religious refugees had settled across the South. This included Portuguese and Spanish Jews, Austrian Lutherans, Scottish Presbyterians, German Mennonites, and Baptists. It also included Moravians who had immigrated to the colonies to share the gospel with native Americans and others.  

​As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, it is appropriate to revisit the historical facts of the nation’s founding, especially the role religious faith played in the development of the nation. It will be important to ensure that societal and academic bias do not negate the role religion played in the formation of the nation. Faith was not only important as a driver of immigration and later migration, but as a driver for dissenting religious groups' support for the Revolution, paving the way for religious freedom.

It is equally important to remember that the struggle for religious freedom did not end at Yorktown, in some ways, it was only a new beginning. It is a struggle that continues today. Like the story of America’s first Thanksgiving, it’s important to get the facts (history) right.