America's Real First Thanksgiving by Robyn Gioia

Robyn Gioia teaches full-time and has been active in children’s literature since joining an eclectic group of writers during a three-year stay in England. She is a former board member of the Florida Writers Association and has been a judge for several national contests. She reviews children’s books for the School Library Journal, is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and her middle-grade novel, Rinny and The Trail of Clues (by Robyn Leslie), has won several awards, including the Benjamin Franklin Silver Award for Best New Children’s Voice. $14.95

Gioia

Pineapple Press, Inc. Sarasota, Florida

America’s Real First Thanksgiving

When most Americans think of the first Thanksgiving, they think of the Pilgrims and the Indians in New England in 1621. But fifty-six years before the Pilgrims celebrated, Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez arrived on the coast of Florida and founded the first North American city, St. Augustine. On September 8,1565, the Spanish and the native Timucua celebrated with a feast of Thanksgiving. The Spanish most likely offered cocido, a rich stew made with pork, garbanzo beans, and onions. Perhaps the Timucua provided wild turkey or venison, or even alligator or tortoise, along with corn, beans, and squash. Learn about our real first Thanksgiving. Learn about Spain and Florida in the 1560s. And make your own cocido from a recipe provided in this important and groundbreaking book.

Front and back cover art © 2007

America’s Real First Thanksgiving

St. Augustine, Florida, September 8, 1565 Robyn Gioia

A merica’s

Real

F irst T hanksgiving



A merica’s Real F irst T hanksgiving St. Augustine, Florida, September 8, 1565

Robyn Gioia Pineapple Press, Inc. Sarasota, Florida



Illustration Credits Pages 1, 5, 33, 34, and 39: copyright © 2007 Cox-Deaton; Robert Deaton, Historical artist for the Florida Museum of History, Tallahassee, FL. Pages 2 (left) and 26 (top): Florida State Archives. Pages 2 (right) and 21: Courtesy of Theodore Morris, www. floridalosttribes.com Pages 2–3 and 36 (right): Courtesy of Charles S. Boning. Pages 3, 28, 29, 31, and 35: Courtesy of Frank Suddeth. Page 7: Benedict Arias Montanus Sacrae Geographiae Tabula Ex Antiquissimourm Published 1569-72. Courtesy of Harry S. Newman, Old Print Shop, New York, N.Y. Page 9: Ortelius, Abraham. La Florida. From the Additamentum to the Theatrum Orbis Terarrum, 1584. Courtesy of the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History, University of Florida Libraries. Page 10: From History of the Reign of Philip the Second King of Spain by William H. Prescott. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1880. Page 11 (all photos): Courtesy of David White. Page 12 (top left): The J. Paul Getty museum, Los Angeles; Artist: Unknown; Title: The Lamb Defeating the Ten

Kings; About 1220–1235; Tempera colors and gold leaf on parchment, 11 9/16 x 9 ¼ in. Page 12 (middle): The J. Paul Getty museum, Los Angeles; Artist Circle of Fernando Gallego; Title: Pieta; About 1490–1500, oil on canvas, 22 1/8 x 16x2 in. Page 12 (bottom right): Courtesy of David White Page 13: Drawing: Joris Hoefnagel, 1566. Courtesy of Historic Cities Research Project http://historic-cities. huji.ac.il The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Page 14 (top): The J. Paul Getty Museum Villa Collection, Malibu, CA; Artist Unknown; Title: Winged Feline; Spain, 700–575 B.C.; Media: Bronze; Size: 61 x W: 19.4 x D: 33 cm Page 14 (middle): The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Artist: Unknown; Title: Tile Floor; Spain, about 14251450; Size: 121.92 x 182.88 cm Page 14 (bottom): The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Artist: Unknown; Title: Hispano-Moresque Basin; Spain, Mid-15th century; Media: Tin-glazed and lusterpainted earthenware; Size: Diameter 49.5 cm Page 15: The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Artist: Michael Lupi de Çandiu (Illuminator); Title: Initial E: An Equestrian Duel Between a Creditor and a Debtor; Spain, about 1290–1310; Media: Tempera colors, gold

leaf, ink on parchment; Size: Leaf: 36.5 x 24 cm Page 16: Hurricanes: NASA. Image produced by Hal Pierce, Laboratory for Atmospheres, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Pages 17, 20, 22, 23, 24, and 25 (top left): Jacques Le Moyne. Courtesy of Pelotes Island Nature Preserve. Page 18: Courtesy of Pelotes Island Nature Preserve. Page 19 (both photos): Courtesy of Doug Alderson. Page 25 (top right and both bottom photos): Courtesy of the Florida Museum of Natural History. Photos by Jeff Gage. Page 26 (bottom): Courtesy of Jean Moran. Pages 27 and 43: Courtesy of Robyn Gioia. Page 30: Courtesy of Pelotes Island Nature Preserve. Page 37 (top): David Meek for the Florida Humanities Council. Page 37 (bottom): Courtesy of Ray Ashton. Page 40, 41 (top left and bottom left), and 42 (both): St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau. Page 41 (top right and bottom right): Courtesy of the state of Florida.

Copyright © 2007 by Robyn Gioia All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Inquiries should be addressed to: Pineapple Press, Inc. P.O. Box 3889 Sarasota, Florida 34230 www.pineapplepress.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gioia, Robyn. America’s real first Thanksgiving : St. Augustine, Florida, September 8, 1565 / Robyn Gioia. -- 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-56164-389-9 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Saint Augustine (Fla.)--History--16th century. 2. Saint Augustine (Fla.)--History--16th century--Pictorial works. 3. Thanksgiving Day--Florida--Saint Augustine--History--16th century. 4. Spaniards--Florida--Saint Augustine--History--16th century. 5. Timucua Indians--Florida--Saint Augustine--History--16th century. 6. Saint Augustine (Fla.)--Social life and customs--16th century. 7. Saint Augustine (Fla.)--Ethnic relations--History--16th century. 8. Florida--History--To 1821. I. Title. F319.S2L47 2006 975.9’1801--dc22 2006037281 First Edition 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in China

Contents 1. The World in 1565

6

2. Uncharted Lands 8 3. Spain in the 1560s 10 4. Florida in the 1560s

16

5. The Timucua, St. Augustine’s

Native Americans

20

6. The Founding of St. Augustine, 1565 7. Day of Thanksgiving 8. St. Augustine Today

26

32 40

Cocido Recipe 43 Timeline Glossary

44 45

References 46 Acknowledgments and Author’s Note Index

48

47

1. The World in 1565 Long ago many people thought the world was flat, but educated people began to consider the idea that the Earth is a sphere. In the Age of Exploration, from the late 15th century to the early 17th century, ships set out from Europe to find out what might be on the other side of this sphere. They were anxious to explore new lands and claim their resources, particularly gold.    

One of the countries sending out explorers was Spain. The first explorer Spain sent, an Italian named

Chistopher Columbus, landed on an island in the New World in 1492. He finally made it to the mainland in 1498. Then many other explorers ventured forth, including Juan Ponce de León, who landed in a place he named La Florida when he first landed there in 1513. In 1565 Pedro Menéndez de Avilés came to La Florida to establish a settlement.



This important map appeared in the Plantin Polyglot Bible in 1569–72. It was prepared under the patronage of King Philip II of Spain. Look closely at the shapes of the continents. How are they different today? Notice the size of the Florida peninsula and its relationship to Texas and California. Note the ships and sea creatures swimming in the oceans and the great gusts of winds influencing the weather. 

2. Uncharted Lands When the explorers arrived in the New World, they had at first, of course, no maps to guide them. Each expedition recorded what they found, and gradually the shape of the North and South American continents took form on maps.      The New World that the European explorers found at first appeared wild and uninhabited, but soon they learned that people lived there. Today we know that millions of native inhabitants had lived in these lands for thousands of years before the arrival of the Europeans. There were many different tribes of native people, each with a distinct culture—their own patterns of knowledge, beliefs, and ways of surviving in their environment. These cultures were very different from the European cultures that the explorers knew.



America’s Real First Thanksgiving by Robyn Gioia

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