Historical Context
On December 4, 1619, 38 English settlers celebrated the end of their long voyage with a thanksgiving immediately upon landing at Berkeley Hundred in Charles City County, Virginia. The group's London Company charter stated, "that the day of our ships arrival at the place assigned for plantation in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God."
The romanticized scene, painted centuries after the event, between 1912-15 by American painter Jean Leon Gerome Ferris shows common misconceptions about the event that has been called "The First Thanksgiving" which continue till today.
The English settlers known as the Pilgrims did not wear such outfits, nor did they eat at a dinner table let alone on their first day ashore.
The Wampanoag are incorrectly dressed in the style of Native Americans from the Great Plains and did not wear feathered war bonnets. Nor would they have been sitting on the ground.
Painting Info
Artist: Jean Leon Gerome Ferris
Source: Library of Congress
Related Events
- 1619-12-04 38 colonists from Berkeley Parish, England disembark in Virginia and give thanks to God. Considered by many the first Thanksgiving in the Americas.
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