Thanksgiving (United States) The most prominent historic thanksgiving event in American popular culture is the 1621 celebration at the Plymouth Plantation, where the settlers held a harvest feast after a successful growing season. Autumn or early winter feasts continued sporadically in later years, first as an impromptu religious observance and later as a civil tradition. The Plymouth settlers, known as Pilgrims, had settled in land abandoned when all but one of the Patuxet Indians died in a plague. After a harsh winter killed half of the Plymouth settlers, the last surviving Patuxet, Squanto (who had learned English and avoided the plague as a
Spanish assault on French Florida winds to sail when Ribault appeared with his timely provisions and reinforcements. The plan of returning to France was then abandoned, and every effort made to repair Fort Caroline. The expedition of Menéndez had been badly storm-beaten, but at last he reached the coast with part of his fleet, only to find Ribault already there with his force. Menéndez then founded and named St. Augustine ("San Agustín") on the 8th of September, 1565. Ribault, who had awaited this arrival of the Spaniards, and had instructions to resist them, decided to attack Menéndez at once, and although opposed by Laudonnière, insisted