What They Ate at the First Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all are able to spend time with family and friends this holiday and are able to make some good memories. Enjoy this short article on what the pilgrims and Native Americans ate at the first Thanksgiving.

The First Thanksgiving

What is commonly known today as the first “Thanksgiving” was really a harvest celebration that doubled as a way to form a military and political alliance between the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag Indians. In 1621 colonists and Native Americans gathered together for a three-day feast to help form a better lasting relationship. There were only about 50 pilgrims at the celebration as the winter before had been harsh and over half of the original colonists that arrived on the Mayflower had perished. Of those 50, 22 were men, 25 were children, and only 4 were women; from the only two known accounts of the feast we know that there were nearly twice as many Native Americans as there were colonists.

Drawing of Governor Bradford. Public Domain — Drawing of Governor Bradford. *Public Domain*

Since it was an important celebration leaders from both parties were in attendance. English Governor William Bradford, whos account is one of the few remaining, and Wampanoag King Massoasoit joined together to promote peace. However during the feast the settlers brought out their guns and did some impromptu target practice, likely to show the natives that despite being outnumbered they still had the firepower. Luckily nothing came of it and after the feast was over the two lived in relative peace over the winter.

Artist rendition of King Massoasoit. Painted by Ruth DeWilde-Major.

What They Ate

The food that the pilgrims and indians ate would look extremely different when compared to the average Thanksgiving meal today. Outside of a few food items described in the two documents we do not know for certain what they ate, but we can take some educated guesses. As a primary meat we know they had venison, as King Massoasoit gifted them five deer to be used for the feast. We know they had wildfowl that was likely goose, duck, or passenger pigeon, and though it is not certain it is likely that a few wild turkeys were present as Governor Bradford said they had many stocked for the winter. The larger birds would have been boiled and possibly spit roasted after to add flavor, the smaller birds would have just been roasted to start with. It is possible that they were stuffed though not with the bread stuffing we usually see today, instead it would have been chunks of onion and other herbs, possibly even chestnuts. Birds ate the previous day would have had their carcass boiled to make broth and then that broth mixed with grains to make a hearty pottage or thick soup out of.

Artist rendition of the first Thanksgiving. Courtesy of Smithsonian Magazine. — Artist rendition of the first Thanksgiving. Courtesy of *Smithsonian Magazine.*

Seafood would have also been a staple of the meal. Eels were easy to catch during this time of the year and shellfish like lobsters, clams, and mussels was a common food source for the regions inhabitants. Bass and other fish may have also been caught and ate. Nuts were another protein that was likely present in the form of walnuts, chestnuts, and beechnuts.

In the way of vegetables they would have had and assortment of beans, pumpkins and squash. Along with other staples like turnips, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, and peas. Corn was eaten but not like today, instead it would have been ground into cornmeal and made into breads and cakes. The colonists likely knew about and ate cranberries, however they would have eaten them raw and not as a sweet sauce. Other fruits they might have consumed would be blueberries, plums, grapes, gooseberries, and raspberries. No pies were present as there was no flour to make them out of and the colonists had little to no sugar left from what they brought on the Mayflower. For drinking they may have had some beer but not enough for everyone for three days so the general consensus is that they mostly drank just plain water.

Artists rendition of the first Thanksgiving. Courtesy of Jennie Augusta Brownscombe.

Modern Tradition

Thanksgiving as we know it today did not take root until the mid 1800s when Governor Bradford’s manuscript titled Of Plimoth Plantation was rediscovered. Boston Clergyman Alexander Young declared the described celebration as the first Thanksgiving, and the tradition quickly caught on as there was much nostalgia for colonial times. By the 1850s most US states and territories were celebrating Thanksgiving.

A cover of Godey’s Lady’s Book. Public Domain. — A cover of *Godey’s Lady’s Book. Public Domain.*

Sarah Josepha Hale was a leading force in establishing the holiday. She was an editor for a popular women's magazine by the name of Godey’s Lady’s Book and she helped to set trends in the modern household. She wrote many articles about the Thanksgiving celebration and why families should partake in it, and starting in 1827 she petitioned 13 presidents to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. She finally convinced President Abraham Lincoln by telling him that it would be a good way to unite the nation during the Civil War, and in 1863 he made it a national holiday. Miss Hale also published nearly a dozen cookbooks geared towards new tradition which helped to establish the normal food fair we have today. Now Thanksgiving is a holiday that millions across the United States take part in and celebrate every year.

If you like my articles and want to help support what I do then please consider purchasing through my affiliate links below:

Personal Thoughts

When I was in middle school we had a substitute teacher for my history class the day before we went on Thanksgiving break and he passed out a paper explaining what the pilgrims ate at the first Thanksgiving. I thought it was interesting then and I remembered it when trying to come up with an article that was related to this holiday. One thing though is that I remember the handout saying they ate seal meat but I couldn’t find any credible source stating that. However there are seals in Massachusetts and since no one knows exactly what all they had I suppose it is still possible. I would say I’d like the celebration the pilgrims had. Some deer backstrap and lobster certainly wouldn’t be a bad meal, really I can’t think of anything listed that I wouldn’t eat (though I would certainly miss the deviled eggs).