Chapter IV
Massachusetts
Even before the fifteenth century, the English had begun to fish for codfish in the Atlantic Ocean. They learned that if they dried the codfish and put it in salt, it would be edible for a long time. They sold the codfish in England and later they began selling codfish in France and Germany as well. They found out that if they sailed further west, there was more codfish in the water, and it was easier to catch. So every year they sailed further and further west. In 1493, they discovered the island of Newfoundland. This was before they heard of Columbus's discovery of the New World. So if Columbus had not found it, the English would have. Newfoundland was discovered in exactly the same year that Khmelnitsky was chartered as a city.
The English found out that the place where there were the most codfish was off the coast of Massachusetts. Although the English were afraid to send settlers to the New World because the Spanish were too strong, they did go on land to dry their fish and fishing nets. The Indians that lived there were friendly. By the early seventeenth century, some of the Indians began to come on the fishing boats to work for the English. One of them was named Squanto. He sailed back to England with them and lived in London for three years. There he learned the English language. Before there were any English settlers in his region, Squanto returned to Massachusetts in another fishing boat.
The Anglican Church was the official religion of England. The king of England was the head of the Anglican Church. In England, before the seventeenth century, the Bible was printed only in Latin. Only the priests knew Latin. But soon after 1600, the Bible was translated into English. Ordinary people were reading the Bible for the first time. Among themselves, they began to discuss the meaning of certain passages. This opened a period of religious turmoil in England. There were many disputes about the meaning of different parts of the Bible. The Christian religion began to divide into a variety of new religions. Some people wanted to purify the spiritual life of the Anglican Church. These were called Puritans. Another group with similar ideas wanted to form a new religion. These were called Separatists. There were many other groups.
The King of England did not want the people to talk about the meaning of the Bible. He wanted the bishops to explain its meaning. The King did not like the Separatists. There was repression against them. In 1620, a group of Separatists decided to leave England. They were called Pilgrims. They decided to sail to Massachusetts. There, they would be able to worship God in the way they chose. They did not want the King telling them how to worship.
It was winter when they arrived. It was much colder than anything they had seen in England. There were only about 120 people in the settlement. They did not have warm houses. A number of them died. They did not know how to live in the strange land they had come to. They went into the forest to hunt deer and wild turkeys. They caught fish. However, they did not know if they could survive in this strange land. It was very different from the England they had left. In England, there had been buildings and roads. Here they had no buildings or roads.
They were very glad when spring came. The Indian, Squanto, came to them. Squanto gave them some corn seed. He showed them how to plant corn. The English had never seen corn before. When the corn was grown, he showed them different ways of eating it. He also showed them how to make bread from it. He also took them into the forest, and showed them the best places to hunt deer and turkeys, and the best places to catch fish.
During the spring and summer they cut trees and built warm log houses. They also built a log church. Here they could worship God in the way they wanted. Here there was no king or bishop to tell them how to worship.
The Pilgrims worked very hard. When autumn came, they had an excellent harvest. Now the Pilgrims knew they could survive in the New World. The Pilgrims wanted to celebrate their coming to a new land and their success in making new homes for themselves. They decided to have a great feast in which they would thank God for his help. They cooked a lot of food. The men went into the forest and killed deer and wild turkeys. In the marshes, they found cranberry bushes. They picked the berries and made cranberry sauce. The Pilgrims invited their Indian friends to this great feast. They called it Thanksgiving Day.
Today, Thanksgiving Day is a very important American holiday. It is the fourth Thursday of November. People either stay at home or visit grandparents. A turkey is baked in the oven with carrots and potatoes. It is baked very slowly so that it would have a good taste. Cranberry sauce is prepared. An apple pie and a pumpkin pie are baked. People eat a lot.
Thanksgiving Day is a day when people celebrate religious freedom. It is a day that reminds people that the Pilgrims came to America for religious freedom.