After The Mayflower Sparknotes
In the collective mindset of most Americans, the image of the first Thanksgiving is a jovial celebration of friendship between the Indians and the Pilgrims, not to mention turkey being the main dish of the meal. This event has been distorted to the point that many people are unaware of the true happenings that took place, which led to the celebration now concrete in the American mythos. In After the Mayflower, the filmmakers portray the events leading to and following the first Thanksgiving from the perspective of the Wampanoag tribe. The film explores the diplomatic intentions behind the Wampanoag alliance with the settlers and reveals how the Pilgrims betrayed their trust following this event. The Pilgrims left England seeking religious
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This peace was strained when the settlers, based on rumors of an imminent attack by tribes from the north, launched a preemptive strike against these tribes (returning with the head of an Indian). News of this attack disturbed members of Massasoit’s tribe, but they maintained their friendship with the English under the impression they would not harm them. This appeared to be true as the Wampanoag tribe maintained trade with the settlers to obtain metal tools and guns. However, as more Pilgrims began to arrive, they came with the notion that they had the right to settle lands in the name of spreading Christianity. Without an upper hand now that the English did not need Massasoit’s help to trade with other tribes, he conceded to sell land for tools and goods to appease the English. As the English population became a power to contend with against the French and Dutch in the area, the English saw the nearby Pequot tribe as a threat to their expansion. In 1637, the Plymouth and Massachusett colonies destroyed the tribe, and to Massasoit’s horror, massacred a village killing women and children. Following the Pequot war, Massasoit traveled to Massachusetts Bay colony to pay tribute to Governor John Winthrop as a reminder of the established treaty between his tribe and the English. However, as power changed, the English began to perceive the Native Americans as not equals,
This peace was strained when the settlers, based on rumors of an imminent attack by tribes from the north, launched a preemptive strike against these tribes (returning with the head of an Indian). News of this attack disturbed members of Massasoit’s tribe, but they maintained their friendship with the English under the impression they would not harm them. This appeared to be true as the Wampanoag tribe maintained trade with the settlers to obtain metal tools and guns. However, as more Pilgrims began to arrive, they came with the notion that they had the right to settle lands in the name of spreading Christianity. Without an upper hand now that the English did not need Massasoit’s help to trade with other tribes, he conceded to sell land for tools and goods to appease the English. As the English population became a power to contend with against the French and Dutch in the area, the English saw the nearby Pequot tribe as a threat to their expansion. In 1637, the Plymouth and Massachusett colonies destroyed the tribe, and to Massasoit’s horror, massacred a village killing women and children. Following the Pequot war, Massasoit traveled to Massachusetts Bay colony to pay tribute to Governor John Winthrop as a reminder of the established treaty between his tribe and the English. However, as power changed, the English began to perceive the Native Americans as not equals,