L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015 www.italoamericano.org 15 L'Italo-Americano Dear Readers, Thanksgiving Day is here and across America school chil- dren have been learning about the Pilgrims and their voyage a c r o s s t h e A t l a n t i c o n t h e Mayflower. *** On a cold winter day in 1620, when the ground was covered with snow and spray from the sea froze as the wind dashed it upon the whore, a small ship anchored in Plymouth Bay, far to the north of Virginia. The little vessel called the Mayflower, was crowded with o n e h u n d r e d a n d t w o m e n , women and children. These peo- ple were the Pilgrims, who had come to live in the New World. W e c a l l t h e s e t r a v e l e r s Pilgrims because they traveled so far to practice their religion. In England, the king insisted that everyone must go to the same kind of church, the English Episcopal Church, but the pil- grims did not want to belong to it. With some members of their c h u r c h w h o j o i n e d t h e m i n England, they set sail in the Mayflower and landed on the rocky coast of New England. The people of the English town of Plymouth, from which they had last set sail, were very kind to them. Therefore the Pilgrims c a l l e d t h e i r n e w h o m e Plymouth. They would have a new England in the New World. It was a bad time to begin a settlement. The Pilgrims almost froze before they could raise grain and vegetables for their tables. P i l g r i m s t h a n k e d G o d f o r helping them in a new country, n o w t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s o f America. Americans in many states have held Thanksgiving every fall since the time of the Pilgrims. President Abraham Lincoln s e t a s p e c i a l d a y f o r Thanksgiving and said it should be held each year all over the country. Now, every year the fourth Thursday in November is Thanksgiving Day. *** Benjamin Franklin wished "the eagle had not been chosen a s t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f o u r c o u n t r y ; h e i s a b i r d o f b a d moral character. The turkey is a much more respectable bird, and a true native of America." Since most people think there were no Italian connections dur- ing early colonial times, I will share with you some notes on the Italian presence in colonial Virginia sent by my late pen pal, Peter Sanmartino, president of Farleigh Dickinson University, Madison, New Jersey. U n l i k e o u r p a r e n t s a n d grandparents who boarded ships in Naples, Genoa, or Palermo and sailed across the Atlantic d i r e c t l y t o A m e r i c a , m a n y Italians during the Colonial peri- od went first to England, then sailed to America, usually dis- embarking in Virginia, the most important of the colonies. There were many Italians in Virginia d u r i n g t h e C o l o n i a l p e r i o d , many were skilled artisans that c a m e t o A m e r i c a b e f o r e t h e immigrant waves that began in 1880. Giovanni Schiavo, the foun- t a i n h e a d o f t h e h i s t o r y o f Italians in the United States stat- ed that the percentage of Italians in the country was probably 3%. But 3% of a million and a half is still a lot of people. *** It isn't only the role of the w o r k e r - i m m i g r a n t s t h a t ' s important. It is also the role of p i o n e e r l e a d e r l i k e F a t h e r C h i n o a n d F r a ' M a r c o d a Nizza in the Southwest, Henry Tonti in the Mississippi Valley, Vigo in the north central states. Let us not forget the discoverers and the explorers before the colonial period. And then the influence of I t a l i a n s w h o n e v e r c a m e t o America like Cesare Beccaria, b u t w h o s e b o o k C r i m e a n d Punishment was the basis for jurisprudence in the colonies. One would have to say that the United States could not have been what it is if it hadn't been for the Italians. In order to understand what happened during the colonial p e r i o d , o n e m u s t s t u d y h o w Italians went first to England a n d f r o m t h e r e c a m e t o t h e colonies as did Philip Mazzei, who was in many respects a Founding Father. He played a m a j o r r o l e i n t h e c o l o n y o f Virginia: Italians fought in the Revolutionary War and there w e r e t h r e e r e g i m e n t s u n d e r Rochambeau that were com- posed mostly of Italians. W e f i n d n a m e s t h a t a r e Italian, other names that were Italian but have been altered. At the time and indeed throughout the immigrant period, spelling was careless. Different people would spell a name in different w a y s m o r e o r l e s s a s i t sounded to them. Paca became P a c k e r . T a l i a f e r r o b e c a m e T o l l i v e r . O r s o m e t i m e s t h e immigrant himself simplified his name or perhaps it was angli- cized for him. Caboto became Cabot. Rossi became Ross. O r i f h e w a s a m o n g Frenchmen, the name became French: Priolo became Prioleau, Leneare became Lanier and to t h i s d a y e v e r y b o d y t h i n k s Lanier is of French derivation. Clinton Vivion (or Vivian), a s h a r e h o l d e r i n t h e V i r g i n i a C o m p a n y b e l o n g e d t o a n English family of Italian extrac- tion. Henry Fonda, father of Jane Fonda, was well aware of the Genoese origin of the Fonda family. Among those who landed at Jamestown on January 2, 1608 was Edward Gargano listed as a gentleman and who helped organize one of the plantations. In 1610 another "gentleman" arrived, Albiano Lupo who was an enterprising person and soon arranged to bring servants to the colony. He had a claim of 350 acres. John Polentine arrived in 1608 and eventually became a Burgess. At one point, six Venetian glassblowers were brought over t o s e t u p g l a s s w o r k s b u t t h e enterprise did not succeed. The g l a s s w o r k s a n d t h e V i r g i n i a C o m p a n y c a m e t o a n e n d a t about the same time. King James I appointed new commissioners to take over, among whom were t w o E n g l i s h m e n o f I t a l i a n extraction: Edward Pallavicino and Sir Julius Caesar. It is interesting to note that the largest importer of Virginia tobacco in all Europe was Philip Burlamachi. It may be that the slim, brittle "Toscani" cigars were developed because of the V i r g i n i a t o b a c c o ; " p o l e n t a " developed because of a new type of corn from the new world and the prosciutto of the Italians in Virginia, led to Smithfield ham. *** T h e s t e a d y I t a l i a n s t r e a m began in 1635 and, from then on, they can be traced in land records. Robert Taliaferro, originally V e n e t i a n , b u t t h e n E n g l i s h arrived in Virginia in 1646 or so with considerable financial capi- tal. He started a dynasty that was r e p r e s e n t e d i n m a n y p u b l i c e n d e a v o r s i n c l u d i n g d i s t i n - guished military duty. Italians of Huguenot persua- sion came during the religious p e r s e c u t i o n s . I n d e e d , a t o n e p o i n t , t h e r e w e r e s o m a n y Italians on the Eastern shore and in the countries on the south bank of the James River, that the area was called the Banks of Italy or Italia. Many enterprising Italians soon owned consider- able acreage. When the Revolution devel- o p e d , m a n y o f t h e I t a l i a n s s e r v e d b o t h i n t h e V i r g i n i a Militia and in the Continental Army in addition to being part of the French forces. Carlo Bellini was appointed a s P r o f e s s o r o f M o d e r n l a n - guages at the College of William and Mary, a position he held for 2 4 y e a r s . H e w a s t h e f i r s t teacher of Italian in an American College. S o d e a r r e a d e r s , o n Thanksgiving Day, November 26th, enjoy your "tacchino" and remember that, yes Virginia, there was an Italian presence in Colonial Virginia, but that is only a small part of the role Italians played in the creation of the America we live in today. God Bless America LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE In 1620, a little vessel called Mayflower, crowded with one hundred and two men, women and children anchored in Plymouth Bay, far to the north of Virginia

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