When it comes to Thanksgiving, most people immediately think
of Plymouth, Massachusetts and the Pilgrims who
celebrated the first Thanksgiving there in 1621. However, there is an
often-overlooked and forgotten Thanksgiving celebration that predates the one
in Plymouth by more than 50 years – the first
Thanksgiving in Saint Augustine,
Florida.
Saint Augustine, founded in
1565 by Spanish explorer Pedro Menendez de Aviles, is the oldest continuously
inhabited European settlement in the United States. It is a city steeped
in rich history, and its first Thanksgiving deserves recognition for its unique
place in American history.
Prior to the arrival of Europeans the region around Saint Augustine was
inhabited by the Seloy Tribe (named after its Chief) of the Timucua Native
Americans. From their settlement they
fished, hunted, and farmed. When the
Spanish landed they were greeted warmly by the natives, who even gave them the
Chief’s council house for their use as a base.
The first Thanksgiving in Saint Augustine took place on September 8,
1565, just a few days after Menendez and his crew established the settlement. Menendez,
a devout Catholic, had just arrived in Florida
to secure Spanish claims and quell the presence of French Huguenots in the
area. In thanksgiving for a safe journey, Menendez held a Mass of Thanksgiving
and a communal feast.
Accompanying Menendez on the voyage was Father Francisco
Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, the fleet’s chaplain. According to Father Lopez’s diary, “On Saturday the eighth the General landed
with many banners spread, to the sounds of trumpets and the salutes of
artillery. As I had gone ashore evening
before, I took a cross and went to meet him, singing the hymn Te Deum
Laudamus. The General, followed by all
who accompanied him, marched up to the cross, knelt and kissed it. A large number of Indians watched these
proceedings and imitated all that they saw done.”
Menendez invited the Seloy tribe to join in the festivities.
The Timucua and Menendez exchanged gifts, shared a meal, and celebrated
together, fostering a friendly relationship between the Spanish settlers and
the native people. In his memoirs,
Hernando Solis de Meras, who was the brother-in-law of Menendez and an Admiral in
the fleet, confirmed: “Menendez ordered that the Indians be fed
and he himself ate.”
The meal consisted of items that the Spanish had transported
from Spain. These included salted pork, garbanzo beans,
and garlic made into a fragrant stew called Cocido. This was accompanied by hard sea biscuits,
also known as hard tack, a biscuit made of flour, salt and water which was a
staple on ships due to its ability to remain fresh for extended periods. All of this was washed down with Spanish
wine. Since Menendez and his men made a
stop in Puerto Rico before traveling to Florida,
some foods from the island may have also been on hand. If the natives contributed to the meal, it
was likely venison and turkey, which they hunted, and maize and squash, which
they grew.
It must have been quite a feat to prepare a feast for so
many people. The Spanish landed at St. Augustine with about
eight hundred colonists plus an unknown number of slaves. It is estimated that about two hundred to
three hundred Seloy also participated.
Here are just some of the ingredients one would need to prepare Cocido for one thousand people:
312 Pounds of pork
1 ½ Gallons of olive oil
250 Cloves of garlic
125 Pounds of garbanzo beans
At least forty-seven gallons of wine would be needed to
serve each person a single glass.
Following the meal, there was no time for leisure. The Spaniards had just rousted the French Huguenots and needed to be prepared for the possibility of a counter-attack. As soon as they were finished eating Menendez
ordered his men to begin work fortifying Chief Seloy’s donated council
house. They dug a moat around it and
added berms turning it into a fort. Archeologists have located the site of the
original fort on the grounds of what is now the Fountain of Youth Archeological
Park and the adjacent Mission Nombre de Dios historic site.
Despite its historical significance, the first Thanksgiving
in Saint Augustine
has largely been overshadowed throughout the years. This may be due to limited
documentation and the lack of poignant folklore compared to the Plymouth
Thanksgiving. Nevertheless, it remains a crucial chapter in the history of the United States
and a testament to the early interactions between European settlers and
indigenous people.
In addition to the celebrations held in Plymouth,
Massachusetts in 1621 and St. Augustine in1565 several other states
have laid claim to being the site of the first Thanksgiving.
Texas asserts that the
first Thanksgiving was held on April 30, 1858 at San Elizario, near El Paso. The Spanish explorer Juan de Onote arrived
there after an arduous journey along with five hundred soldiers and colonists
through the Chihuahuan
Desert. The expedition almost died of thirst before
finally reaching the Rio Grande
River. Grateful to have survived, de Onote ordered a
day of thanksgiving culminating in a feast in which the local natives
participated. In 1990 the Texas House
and Senate passed resolutions recognizing the event as the first Thanksgiving.
Some credit the Popham Colony in what is now Phippsburg, Maine
with holding the first Thanksgiving in 1607.
According to one account, the indigenous Wabanaki people visited the
English colony on an autumn day and were “feasted and entertained with all
kindness, both that day and the next.”
The following day the settlers and natives attended church services
together. While some historians argue
that this was the first Thanksgiving, the State of Maine does not recognize it. This hesitancy may be out of sensitivity to
the overall treatment of the natives during the colonial period when many of
them were killed or forced into slavery.
The Berkeley Plantation in Virginia,
about twenty-five miles outside of Richmond
also asserts to be the location of the first Thanksgiving. There, on December 4, 1619, English settlers
finally arrived in the New World after a
harrowing three month Atlantic crossing.
At last on dry land they prayed in thanks for their safe passage followed
by a simple meal of ham and oysters.
Orders delivered by their leader, Captain John Woodlief, commanded that
the day must be “yearly and perpetually
kept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God.” Unlike other accounts of “first”
Thanksgivings, they did not invite the local Native Americans. In fact, relations with the Powhatan tribe
were so poor that within two years the natives attacked the settlement, killing
347 colonists, after which the English abandoned it. Today the Virginia Thanksgiving Festival is
held there annually with period actors, parades and music.
When Spain
ceded Florida to the British in 1821 the Anglo
version of the first Thanksgiving at Plymouth
became the accepted narrative. This view
was reinforced when Florida became part of the
United States. Thanksgiving has been celebrated nationally
since 1789 following a proclamation by George Washington. In 1863, in an effort to bring together a
divided country, Abraham Lincoln declared a national day of thanksgiving
calling on Americans to “fervently
implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the
nation.” In 1870 Ulysses S Grant
signed into law an act that made Thanksgiving a yearly federal holiday.
Of all of the claims to the first Thanksgiving, St. Augustine seems to
win out. It was first
chronologically. It was a grand feast
shared between colonists and Native Americans. A Mass was performed. The one element missing is that there was no on-going
annual celebration. Within months after
the arrival of the colonists relations between the two groups deteriorated
significantly. The Timucua repeatedly
attacked the Spanish settlement forcing them to move to a safer location on Anastasia Island.
The first Thanksgiving in Saint Augustine is an integral part of
American history, showcasing the early interactions between European settlers
and Native Americans. While it may not have gained the same widespread
recognition as the Plymouth Thanksgiving, its significance should not be
overlooked. The celebration in St.
Augustine marked a symbol of unity and gratitude
during a time of uncertainty and adversity. It serves as a reminder of the
diverse and complex history of the United States and the importance of
acknowledging the contributions of all cultures in shaping the nation we know
today.
Want More Northeast Florida History?
Read South of the St. Marys River: Stories from the History of Northeast Florida
