Causes Of Jamestown Colonists

It was not an easy beginning at Jamestown. In 1607, 104 colonists made the venture through Chesapeake Bay and up the James River, coming across a little island which would become known as Jamestown, but little did they know about the dangers they would face. So, in early Jamestown, why did so many colonists die? Colonists died in early Jamestown for 3 primary reasons: their water, lack of key skills

A terrible drought had arrived with the colonists. In Document B, the longest drought in Jamestown was from about 1607-1612. There were barely any food and water, and most of the water accessible was infected with human waste or salt. “Because the

Colonists and Natives were too confident and they tried to survive in the deathful fighting's and attacks! In 1607 the first English colonists arrived on the James River. They were sent by the Virginia company to find riches like gold, copper, and metal. They brought 104 men with them and three ships: The Susan Constant, the Discovery, and the Godspeed. When they arrived on the James River they also founded Jamestown which was the first English settlement in 1607 although before the colonists even got to the New World the emperor Powhatan was in power. Although why did so many colonists died in early Jamestown between 1607 and 1611? The reason why so many colonists died in Jamestown between 1607 and 1611 was because of disease, attack of Natives, and drought. So in the next few paragraphs, I will prove using historical evidence that colonists died because of disease, drought, and attacks of natives.

Of all the English settlers that arrived in early Jamestown from 1607 to 1611, 80% of them died. The first three ships arrived at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay bringing just over one hundred settlers who would attempt to establish the first English settlement. Fifty miles up the James River, the colonists chose a piece of land that seemed to be full of resources, and called it Jamestown. Those who study early Jamestown often wonder why so many colonists died despite the resources that were originally thought to be available. Environmental problems, lack of settler skills, and poor relationships with Native Americans were the main contributors to the high percentage of colonists’ death.

Jamestown is now known as the very first permanent English settlement in the New World. However, from 1607-1610, early Jamestown constantly hovered right above the line of failure from reasons both outside the settlement and within its borders. Three main reasons the Jamestown colonists died were because of their lack of preparation, poor relations with the Native Americans, and the location of their settlement.

The third and final reason of why Jamestown failed so horribly was because of disease. They had 1 surgeon and no apothecary. Also, the triangle shaped fort they made didn't have any plumping, so... where did they put their human waste? They dumped it in the river. But, the area was notorious for having high and low tides. And they and to drink something, but the water was easier to reach at high tides do to their position on the beach. So the high tides brought in whatever they dumped out and they basically consumed their own waste which definitely got them sick. Smart people right?

One of the reasons I think why the colonists died was that lack of rainfall. Doc B stated, “ “0” on the chart means average tree ring size and therefore average rainfall “ (Doc B line 4). This matters because most of jamestown's rainfall was below zero. I feel that this might have killed the colonists because they were technically in a drought and they didn’t have any water to drink.

The creation of Jamestown started on May 24, 1607. Captain Christopher Newport led three ships, the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery. "They named both the river and their colony after King James I of England" (Jamestown 28). They did not want to leave England completely or they would not have named those two things after him. They probably felt that they needed to name these things after him because he was the main leader and investor of the expedition. The colonies agriculture and Industry started off slow. "They failed to produce silk, grapes, and other items because of the Virginia climate" (Jamestown 29). They had trouble growing these because they thought that they would grow as they did in England but the climate was much different. They brought a lot of stuff over that they thought would work but did not and this trial and error resulted in a long process before they finally found the first product that grew or worked. "The first agricultural products to be successfully raised were hogs and Indian corn" (Jamestown 29). There was more than one leader that contributed to keeping Jamestown up and going. Captain

First, the settlers were very ill prepared for the hot, humid summers and the icy, cold winters. In the video “Jamestown Rediscovery Part 2” slide 32 says, “Oppressive summer heat and humidity set in with disastrous results. The food transported from England spoiled, and the brackish water bearing mosquitoes and disease was too dangerous to drink. More than half the colony’s population perished from disease.” The settlers were not prepared for such a harsh season. Secondly, autumn may have supplied the settlers with food, but shortly after the food had burned. The settlers were entering the harsh winter without food. In the video “Jamestown Rediscovery Part 3” slide 44 states, “In their zeal to do the Virginia Company well, they failed to acquire enough food stores for their own need.” Now without food, and many settlers dead or carrying diseases, only made the cold icy winter worse. Lastly, during the winter, also known as the “Starving time”, it was impossible for settlers to grow food. With the winter making growing food impossible, page 33 of “Making Thirteen Colonies” the text states, “‘They ate dogs, cats, rats and mice,’ said Percy, as well as ‘serpents and snakes’ and even boots and shoes”. In summary, the unpredictable weather in Jamestown was a

Throughout the 17th century, the English faced many hardships. The settlers of Jamestown had faced misfortune of the new land such as disease and malnutrition, and failure of crops. Over time the English built their economic and social structure with perfecting crops, indentured slaves and building a new society that would spark others to explore.

Early Jamestown: Why did so many colonist die? Between 1607 and 1608, 179 settlers were killed from disease. Is this the main reason why so many colonists died? English settlers began arriving on the James River in Chesapeake Bay region of Virginia in the spring of 1607.this was to be the first permanent English settlement in the new world.

On May 14, 1607, a group of roughly 100 members of a joint venture called the Virginia Company, founded the first permanent English settlement in North America. The Jamestown colonists purpose is to find gold, silver, and other resources all they want is claiming land and riches. Smith left the Jamestown settlers without a strong leader so he left all his people alone. There’s no houses for them, there’s no supplies for them to survive due to the lack of leadership. So the settlers faced many hardships they had not expected. The settlers lacked some skills necessary to contribute for themselves like farming, hunting, etc. Many settlers died not only because of starvation & disease but also during the winter many settlers starve or froze to death because they don’t have anything for that season. After all what happens to them the settler adjusted to their new lives in America. The few remaining colonists turned to local Powhatan Indians to help them learn the process of planting and harvesting corn and tobacco. The settlers relied on

According to Document B, a graph from ‘The Lost Colony of Jamestown and Droughts’ it shows, in 1600 to 1610 was the longest period of unbroken drought. The longest lines on the chart are under “0” which is average tree size, which is affected by the amount of rainfall. Therefore the trees are below average height and the amount of water was limited. The people eventually died from dehydration. According to Document A, an excerpt from ‘Jamestown Environment’ it reads, “... English colonists dug shallow wells to supply themselves with sources of drinking water, but these were vulnerable to drought and salt water intrusion.” The drought had a huge impact on the people. Not only did they not have anything to drink, but they also couldn’t use it to cook food or water their crops. Without crops, English colonists had not much to trade with to get their necessities. Also, they probably had to fight with the Powhatans over

The First reason Jamestown colonists died was disease.Many of the colonists Die Because They did not have a sewer System and they did not know that the ocean water was going to the spring water which the water had human waste and they drank the water which got them sick.

* Many were gentlemen who felt it below their stations to clear fields or build stockades (barriers)