Jamestown Dbq

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

Jamestown is thought by most of to be the first colony in the New World but this is not the complete truth. Jamestown is considered our first successful colony; however it was not the first attempt at a colony. There were a few attempts to colonize the New World before Jamestown and one in particular that was the most mysterious is the Roanoke colony, also known as the Lost Colony. The colony got this name because the colonists that were there vanished mysteriously with no trace of what happened.

Death has overcome the Jamestown colony. In 1607, 110 colonists arrived at Jamestown, but by the end of December, only 40 would still be alive. More people kept arriving, but in the winter of 1609-1610, only one-third of the settlement were still alive. Also by 1611, 80% of the 500+ settlers were dead. An abundant amount colonists died in early Jamestown because of a few reasons. There was a drought, so the food and water were scarce, and the Indians and colonists weren’t on excellent terms.

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.

Settlers from the English began settling along the James River in the spring of 1607. Most of the people ended up not settling and end up dying instead. The question to the essay is why did so many Colonists die at Jamestown? The reason that so many Colonists died was because they had limited resources. The reasons to why they had limited resources was that they only had a certain amount of food, which later ran out, they had limited fresh water, and they lacked workers.

Jamestown is thought by most of our general population to be the first colony in the New World. This is only half true. Jamestown is considered our first successful colony, however it was not our first attempt at a colony. There were a few attempts to colonize the New World before Jamestown and one in particular that is found to be interesting is Roanoke also known as the Lost Colony. It received this name due to the fact that the colonists that settled this colony disappeared very mysteriously.

Many Jamestown colonists died because of their lack of preparation. According to the information video, a group of English investors called the Virginia Company paid for this voyage to Jamestown in return for reaping some of the riches collected by the colonists. This idea was widely influenced by the Spanish becoming extremely rich from their successful trip to the New World. In addition, Document A states, that “ahead lay possible riches” for the English men to find. The Englishmen originally did not plan to stay in Jamestown; the reason for sailing to Jamestown was to find gold quickly and return to England to hopefully become as rich as the Spanish. Furthermore, Document C notes that, out of the first supply of men, 43% of the men were gentlemen, who are people defined as a being of wealth not used to working with his hands. In comparison, only about 11% of the original settlers were laborers. This proves that the majority of men lacked actual skill for finding any gold at all, and that there was no way the crew was prepared for this voyage.

The Powhatan Confederacy were very skilled hunters and they would hunt for deer, elk, and bison (American Yawp, 2). They would also grow beans, squash, and sunflowers (Lecture). Since Jamestown had bad soil conditions, the English were not able to grow their crops which resulted in death and starvation. All of their supplies were gone and many of the them had to

This is a secondary source document with primary evidence written in it. The general of the Indians was seeking to trade grain for Indians to last them through the winter so they wouldn't starve and die. He got a giant shipload of grain. It seems that the shipload of grain disappeared just like that due to starvation. All of the grain that they had was definitely not enough to last them through the winter until springtime. (Doc D) The document suggests at least three reasons. 1) the settlers must have been low on food. 2) the Indians had reasons to distrust the settlers for their Crewelle Dealinge and therefore might later refused request for trade and food; and 3) one group of colonist got all the traded food then left them. 299 people made it to Jamestown. Disease:84(50+6?+28=about 84 died from disease in 1607 and 1608. Indian Relations: 7(2+3+2=7 settler killings by Indians specifically mentioned in 1607 and 1608. The numbers of death by disease continued to be high; what is new is the large number of settlers killed by Indians either directly or indirectly by the siege. Settler-Indians relations got worse. Something cause the powhatans to become much more aggressive than they were during the first two years. Perhaps it was continuing resupply of colonists. It was becoming clear to the Powhatans the English were not just temporary visitors. (Doc E) Why can't people just get

The Indians knew how to live off the land and were expert hunters and gatherers their main food they grew was corn and traded with the colonist by giving them corn and gathering up food for them. Back in England people who were wealthy had no clue how to survive on the plains and take care of a farm and plow fields and hunt for meat. Since they came from the city of England the Englishmen were people who did not know that kind of life. They were wealthy Englishmen; most of these men were lazy and didn’t know what manual labor was. In addition, there were Englishmen of trade who were carpenters, blacksmiths, shoemakers who settled down in Jamestown. It was known that one of the main reasons why the Englishmen settled in Jamestown in hope to find gold, rubies, pearls, and silver and to be able to sell it in England for a profit. Devastation struck instead, within a few months less than hundred died. These deaths were excruciating deaths, and the horror of deaths continued from 1607 to 1610. Some men would find themselves going out of their mind, while others had a blistering burning fever, and some men’s skin would just peel off like peeling off a boiled potato and sudden deaths rapidly appeared, some licked up the blood from their falling comrades as some swelled up so fast less than a hundred from five hundred survived. Many of the colonists were very weak and could not do hardly anything. Some figured the cause of the deaths was from

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 A, a section from ‘Jamestown’s Environment’ it states, “...Fish are present in local streams, but only in the spring and early summer are there in impressive abundance…” This proves that in the winter and most of fall the fish, one of the only sources of protein, aren’t around. Other animals, such as the bear, hibernate therefore, food is scarce. Also, they didn’t have many options for clothing because colonists made their clothes themselves and the colonists most likely weren’t prepared for the winter. According to Document B, a fragment from ‘The Virginia Adventure’ it says, “... No one doubted that this new supply of grain would help, but it would not be enough to last the winter.” The colonists had to prepare a lot for winter in order to stock up enough food to last winter. Instead of growing the grains themselves though, they forced the Patawomeke to trade with them by cutting of two of the tribe members’ heads. Therefore, they ran out of food and the Patawomeke probably attacked them, due to their cruel

In general, Jamestown colony survived because of the determination of the London Company. The London Company in December 1606, sent three ships and 144 colonists all male to Virginia , but unfortunately only 105 survived the voyage and landed in Virginia and form a settlement, which they call Jamestown (Reich, p. 2011, p.59). In short, the area didn’t seem to be prosperous because of the land was marshy and the disease malaria was spreading amongst them and the locals. In addition, another quality they had was the ability to survive animosity from the Native Americans which surrounded them all over. According to Reich (2011), “Relations with the Native Americans was touchy ever since Jamestown was founded and one tribe attacked the English

Captain John Smith and his colony had a hard time with surviving. They suffered harsh winters, lack of fresh water, and spread of disease which made life very difficult. They would constantly be attacked by the Algonquin Indians which made survival nearly impossible. Jamestown was formed by the colonist that came from England, the English

Jamestown, the birthplace of America was the first permanent english settlement in North America. In April 1606, King James I established Jamestown and on May 13, 1607, colonists began to arrive at Jamestown. When establishing Jamestown as a colony, the Virginia Company was in search of economic opportunities. The citizens wanted to escape poverty and prosecution. They wanted to be able to believe in what they wanted. The first month in Jamestown was a struggle for all passengers. The moment the passengers came ashore, they immediately began on settlement. Serious problems soon emerged when about 15,000-25,000 Indians were already living in the Chesapeake Bay when the colony was founded. The Indians were part of the Powhatan Confederacy which was ruled by Powhatan, a powerful leader. At this time, the English settlers were looking for gold that no one was farming. In this situation, Captain John Smith became the colony’s leader and established a “no work, no food” policy. Smith had been instrumental in trading with the Powhatan Indians for food but their relationship was tense in all aspects. After he was injured by a burning gunpowder in 1608 and left for England, the “starving time” began. This was a period of warfare between the colonists and Indians and the depth of many English men