The Tale of Two Colonies
It Is One’s Faith That Shapes Everything in Life, Culture, and Country
Stevens County Times, Pastors’ Perspective
November 2024
We trace our annual Thanksgiving Day back to the Plymouth Colony’s three-day Thanksgiving celebration in 1621, which included the surviving 50 Pilgrims and 90 native Indians to thank God for the abundant harvest and their friendship with the tribal people. However, another Colony preceded Plymouth by 13 years and had a very different story - the Jamestown Colony.
So, we could also call this “The Tale of Two Cultures” and note the role faith in God had in how the cultures of these two colonies developed.
A few similarities are that they both began with just over one hundred settlers and lost significant numbers during their first winters (almost two-thirds in Jamestown and half in Plymouth). Furthermore, they both settled on unoccupied land (that may surprise some, but this is true). However, Alexis de Tocqueville observed in his “Democracy in America” that “two principal offshoots” grew separately “—one in the South, the other in the North,” and this would set the stage for competing cultures between the North and the South.
Briefly, what became the colony at Jamestown was the product of a group of investors that formed the “Virginia Company,” authorized by King James I, to “locate gold and silver deposits and (to find) a river route to the Pacific Ocean for trade with the Orient.” They hoped to find untapped wealth and open new avenues to distant new markets: they came to get rich.
When the first slave traders arrived on the shores of the Jamestown colony in August of 1619, about 20 of the 50 slaves were bought and likely served more as “indentured servants” who would serve for a set period of time. Slavery, as we understand it to be, would take root in the 1640s.
In the South, Jamestown had more conflicts and sometimes war with the tribal Indians of the region than those in the North. The conflict among the members of their colony also set them back as greed for gold and silver dominated their time and efforts. John Smith was angry because their lust for riches meant failing to prioritize those things that would prepare the colonists to survive the winter (i.e., preparing crops, securing wells, and other resources).
However, the Pilgrims of the Plymouth colony were very different in purpose and outcome.
The same year the first settlers landed at Jamestown, the Pilgrims were chased out of England by King James I for not aligning with the Church of England, of which he was the head. Those who wanted to worship and practice their religion outside of the approved way of King James’ Church were harassed, persecuted, and even put in prison. Therefore, due to such an oppressive climate, they immigrated to Leiden, Holland, in their pursuit of religious freedom.
However, even in Holland, the King was able to pressure them. Moreover, after twelve years, the leaders became concerned that the wickedness of the culture was seducing their young people, so after much prayer, they determined to sail for America. Although the Pilgrims attempted to secure several ships, in the end, only the Mayflower was available to take a portion of the faithful believers to the New World.
Once they arrived, but before disembarking the ship, they created a governing document for their new colony called “The Mayflower Compact.” It begins like this: “In the Name of God,” followed by their reason for seeking a place in this new land:
“For the Glory of God and the Advancement of the Christian Faith.”
Unlike in Jamestown, these Pilgrims came for religious freedom and with hopes of sharing their Christian faith with the land’s inhabitants, not for financial gain or to enslave any people (contrary to the erroneous “history” taught in Nikole Hannah-Jones’ “1619 Project”). This fundamental difference birthed a different and more beneficial culture within the Plymouth Colony.
For example, due to the biblical values that directed their conduct and treatment of the native tribes, their relations with them were much better than in the southern colony. Furthermore, the work ethic taught in Scripture moved them to prioritize their efforts appropriately. Prayer was often offered, and they saw God answer them in marvelous ways.
One example of God’s providential hand directing the Pilgrims: they intended to go to Jamestown, but the winds pushed them off course, so they ended up in what we know as Plymouth – in December 1620. And to their great joy and relief, they found an abandoned settlement with corn stored up as if someone knew they were coming. Then, they would meet Squanto, who spoke perfect English and knew their customs because he had been trained in their country for several years before returning the year before they arrived.
Furthermore, the land where the Pilgrims occupied was Squanto’s tribal land, but while he was in Europe, the rest of his tribe died from sickness, and he was the only one left. He chose to befriended the Pilgrims and taught them how to farm the land and fish the sea, enabling them to survive and thrive. Then, at their first harvest in 1621, they were filled with such gratitude and thanks to God for the abundant crops, they organized the Thanksgiving celebration we remember today.
And then, unlike in Jamestown, when the first slave traders arrived on their shores in 1646, they arrested the slave traders and set the prisoners free. David Barton comments that although the following years were far from perfect, it was in New England, and Massachusetts especially, where slavery was first outlawed in 1783 – a full 50 years before England.
The lesson: That which we worship (pursue) – God, Money, Power, Pleasure, etc.- will shape everything else about our character, life’s direction, and the culture in our homes and community. This truth reveals the remedy for our current culture war – a return to our nation’s motto, “In God We Trust.” Only then can we expect to see the transforming turnaround we long for in our land. I pray that you will, if not already, join others calling upon God to save America. I am.
Sources: Wall Builders website: www.wallbuilders.com, the online Encyclopedia Britannica, and Dr. Kenyn Cureton, a former Southern Baptist pastor who serves the Family Research Council.