Did the First Thanksgiving Take Place in St. Augustine, Florida?
Some historians claim that St. Augustine is the location of the very first Thanksgiving in America.
Tradition and history have us believe that the first Thanksgiving took place in 1621 by the Pilgrims and Wampanoags in Plymouth, Massachusetts. However, some historians believe that Spanish colonists who landed in Florida feasted with Native Americans 50 years before the breaking of bread in Plymouth. Some claim that Florida is the location of the very first Thanksgiving dinner.
A Mass of Thanksgiving in St. Augustine, Florida
On September 8, 1565, Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and his crew of 800 Spanish sailors headed for Florida shore. Father Francisco Lopez was also on that ship that day, prepared to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving for finding land. As inquiring members of the indigenous Timucua tribe looked on, the captain and the crew participated in Father Lopez's Catholic Mass of Thanksgiving. He and the men were thankful for their safe arrival in the newly named settlement of St. Augustine. Menéndez invited the Timucuans to join the Spanish newcomers in a communal meal.
Some Florida historians claim that this celebration was North America's premier Thanksgiving Day. "It was the first community act of religion and thanksgiving in the first permanent settlement in the land," claims Michael Gannon in his book The Cross in the Sand.
The Very First Thanksgiving Meal in Florida
While the food shared between the Spaniards and Timucuans is nothing like today's Thanksgiving meal, it did feature a popular post-Thanksgiving staple—leftovers. The Spanish, unlike the Pilgrims, were forced to eat whatever reserves lasted during the long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. According to Robyn Gioia, author of America's REAL First Thanksgiving, "The Timucua ate what was available to them locally. This could have included alligator, bear, wild turkey, venison, tortoise, and food from the sea, such as turtle, shark, mullet or sea catfish." Archaeological research also reveals that the indigenous people ate copious amounts of oysters and clams paired with beans and squash.
A Claim Against Florida as the Birthplace of Thanksgiving
Formal thank yous are a Spaniard tradition, especially since many of these explorers were unsure where they would end up. For example, James W. Baker, author of Thanksgiving: The Biography of an American Holiday, explains that Ponce de Leon in 1513 did just that when he arrived safely after crossing the trans-Atlantic. While some may claim that this relates to the Thanksgiving holiday, many argue that these separate pre-Pilgrim ceremonies have little connection to what is now the American holiday.
"While many of these can be said to be 'Thanksgivings' actually celebrated before 1620 and the Pilgrims, none were repeated or resulted in spawning a new tradition. As just isolated and temporary events, they do not bear any real historical significance beyond their position in time," Baker claims. "None of these events were made anything of historically, or even rediscovered, until the 20th century, and thus did not contribute to our modern American holiday tradition."
In the end, Baker claims that the first real Thanksgiving did not take place but two centuries later in 1841.
Wishing All Floridians a Happy Thanksgiving!
Regardless of your standing on where the first Thanksgiving took place, we at Condominium Associates wishes all of our Florida-friends a very Happy Thanksgiving!