Talk:The United States in the 16th century/@comment-95.17.187.125-20121119164004

Shortly after some of the major Spanish explorers came, the British and Portugese sent expiditions to the Americas. Squanto, who we all learned about in grade school had made that voyage four times as a slave before the Mayflower got there. Before that, one Portugese ship had a man that developed smallpox tossed ashore. A local tribe tried to help him, but most of the native americans on the Eastern Seaboad were killed. That is why the natives wre so eager to trade with the Plymouth colonists, as they needed resources to replenish what they lost in that epidemic. And thus the first Thanksgiving.