American History Tellers The Mayflower | The Thanksgiving Myth | 5
12 snips
Dec 3, 2025 
David Silverman, a historian and author of "This Land Is Their Land," shares crucial insights into the Wampanoag perspective on the arrival of the Mayflower. He discusses the deep-rooted history between the Wampanoag and Europeans long before 1620, revealing the complex dynamics of trade and cultural exchanges. Silverman also clarifies the roles of figures like Squanto and Massasoit, highlighting the fraught nature of early interactions and the myths surrounding Thanksgiving. His reassessment provokes a deeper understanding of Native sovereignty and the brutal realities of colonization.
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Thanksgiving Myth Masks Colonial Violence
- The Wampanoag story reframes Thanksgiving as one episode in a longer history of colonization and survival.
- David Silverman argues the myth sanitizes violent dispossession and erases Native continuity.
Squanto's Long, Traumatic Journey Home
- Squanto was kidnapped, sold in Spain, freed, taken to England, and returned to New England before 1620.
- He arrived to find Patuxet devastated by an epidemic that left skeletons littering the landscape.
A Century Of Contact Before The Mayflower
- Wampanoags sought European metal goods and engaged in regular trade long before 1620.
- Trade brought desire for weapons and tools but also exposure to kidnapping and slavery by Europeans.
