Joei Vidad

Ms. Gagner
Period 4
October 23, 2014
Jamestown Report

Jamestown Essay: Why Did So Many Colonists Die?

Between the years of 1607-1612, numerous English ships, sailed into the mouth
of Chesapeake Bay, and down the James River. There, the first permanent, English
settlement was to be born. The moment King James I gave the colonists his blessing, a
strong group of English businessmen invested in the project, hoping to get something in
return. The settlers set out to sea believing that they would find treasure, new land to
own, and a chance to spread the word of God. Instead, the colonists experienced a trial
of challenges that wiped out the majority of the settlers. What factors in the first English
settlement led to so many deaths in early Jamestown? The English settlers lack of
skills, bad environment, and terrible relations with the Natives caused the death of so
many English colonists.
The Englishs lack of skills and expertise eventually led them to many deaths.
English settlers sailed their way to James Island, bringing an estimated one hundred ten
passengers. Over one-third of the men on the ship who came along on the journey,
were not necessarily needed in the making of the first settlement. The majority of the
passengers who were brought to James Island were gentlemen who werent used to
working with their hands (Doc D). No women were brought out to James Island on the

first ship (Doc C). Females could have nursed the ill, farmed crops to later eat, cooked
more nutritious food, and done housework while the men were out hunting. Their lack of
skills and intelligence led them to shortages of handiwork and resources. Their lack of
resources and food directed their way down to starvation. With only a little amount of
skill and expertise, the population in Jamestown began to reduce.
The environment had a great effect in decimating the population of Early
Jamestown. Thinking that it would flush away, they would dump their human waste into
the James River. Instead, the waste began to fester. The water became even more filthy
for different uses; the same water they used for drinking, cleaning, and cooking (Doc A).
Most of the settlers depended on the reliable sources of the James River. Fish, plants,
and other resources were most present during the spring and summer time and least
present during the winter time (Doc A). The English could not have arrived at a worse
time possible; during one of the longest, unbroken droughts (Doc B). The drought made
it difficult for the English to farm and gather food, because they were not able to gather
enough water for the crops during the summer. Jamestowns environment had a large
impact in their deaths by starvation and by disease that was in the river.
The English did not necessarily have a kind relationship with the Natives. In
1609, West and thirty-six other men sailed up the Chesapeake Bay and attempted to
trade for corn with the Powhatan Indians. West was able to load the ship with plenty of
grain, but his accomplishment only happened because of how cruel he treated the
Indians. He and his crew beheaded two of the Indians heads and also cut off some of
their limbs (Doc D). Wests actions made the Indians very furious. In return, the Indians
raided the colony and killed many English colonists with weapons and their siege of

Jamestown. Jamestown experienced the Starving Time between the months of

November 1609 to May 1610 after the attacks made by the Powhatans. Over two
hundred colonists were killed by the Indians, between August and the end of 1609 (Doc
E). The terrible relationship between the Powhatans and the English colonists caused
many wars and attacks, which led to numerous deaths in the Jamestown c
olony.
Many colonists died in the making of Jamestown. The three main reasons why
many colonists lost their lives were because of their lack of skills, the environment
Jamestown took place in, and their bad relations with the Powhatans. Although many
colonists died in the making of Jamestown, it was all worth it in the end, because
Jamestown became the very first permanent English settlement in the New World.