The Question Schools Rarely Ask

The most revealing question in Tisquantum’s story may be the simplest:

Why did he speak English?

Once that question is asked seriously, the entire Thanksgiving narrative opens up.

He spoke English because he had been kidnapped.

Why had English sailors kidnapped Native people?

Because early European expansion included slavery, forced interpretation, commercial competition, and attempts to gain knowledge of Native lands.

Why was Tisquantum available to help Plymouth rather than living with his own community?

Because an epidemic had devastated Patuxet while he was gone.

Why did the Pilgrims settle there?