The history of Thanksgiving by Victor Niederhoffer.
Give thanks for the freedom to profit
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/P34318.asp
Like todayâs technology ventures, New World colonies were risky propositions with a history of terrible failures. The Plymouth colonyâs angel, a joint stockholding venture called the Virginia Company, tried to protect itself by insisting that all produce be held in common, to make collecting what the settlers owed easier. But when the 41 families of the Mayflower arrived at Plymouth in December 1620, few things went right. Food was distributed according to need, but the first winter killed half the people. That yearâs harvest and the next didnât last the winter. Some settlers stole from others at night. Things seemed hopeless. Here, with modern spelling, is the account by William Bradford, governor of Plymouth almost continuously from 1621 through his death in 1657, of what happened next:
"It well appeared that famine must still ensue the next year also, if not in some way prevented. At length, after much debate, the governor gave way that they should set corn every man for his own particular, and in that regard trust to themselves. And so he assigned every family a parcel of land, according to the proportion of their number. This had very good success, for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been."
The important thing, however, is how Plymouth came to prosper -- by converting communal property into private property.
Give thanks for the freedom to profit
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/P34318.asp
Like todayâs technology ventures, New World colonies were risky propositions with a history of terrible failures. The Plymouth colonyâs angel, a joint stockholding venture called the Virginia Company, tried to protect itself by insisting that all produce be held in common, to make collecting what the settlers owed easier. But when the 41 families of the Mayflower arrived at Plymouth in December 1620, few things went right. Food was distributed according to need, but the first winter killed half the people. That yearâs harvest and the next didnât last the winter. Some settlers stole from others at night. Things seemed hopeless. Here, with modern spelling, is the account by William Bradford, governor of Plymouth almost continuously from 1621 through his death in 1657, of what happened next:
"It well appeared that famine must still ensue the next year also, if not in some way prevented. At length, after much debate, the governor gave way that they should set corn every man for his own particular, and in that regard trust to themselves. And so he assigned every family a parcel of land, according to the proportion of their number. This had very good success, for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been."
The important thing, however, is how Plymouth came to prosper -- by converting communal property into private property.
