Benjamin Dana

10/2/12
History 9
Colonial Paper
Words: 701

The Colonization of Jamestown

All I hear on this cold, dark, night are strange noises creeping through the crevices of my
log cabin. My name is Rebecca, and I am the oldest of four children. My father is an eminent
tradesman of England, and he has brought our family to the New World to start a new life. He
hopes to grow lavish fields of tobacco in the rich soil of this new land, and ship it to the different
ports of England. Our colony has been living in this newly founded plantation for quite some
time, but we are finally getting settled in. I was on one of the first boats to sail here called the
Discovery which set out from England to settle in the New World. My mother, father, and I are
working relentlessly - along with the others that traveled with us on the Discovery - to help this
new settlement, known as Jamestown, thrive in the New World.

In the first few months of the founding of this new settlement, things were in utter chaos.
We arrived at during the first snow storms of winter. My father and the other men were working
relentlessly to build shelters for the women and children. The cold wind would send shivers up
my spine as I stood in the snow and watched the men build cabins. They cut down giant trees

found in the nearby forest, and erected cabins and barns suitable for the livestock and settlers.
Men built barricades around Jamestown to protect our small town from hostile tribes and hungry
predators. The women and children worked on stocking the food supply and washings the clothes
while the men went on expeditions to find food. I helped by watching the little children and by
collecting the chicken eggs. I remember laying in my straw bed with my younger siblings fast
asleep beside me, and watching my mother sit in her rocking chair and sew by the warm light of
the fire. The only noise outside was the cabin was the harsh winds of winter banging against the
foundation of our house. Stoves were burning everywhere, including in the sick house were the
settlers gathered if they were sick or injured. The months of winter in Jamestown were a
gruesome task for us, the settlers, to cope with, but we managed to push through with the hard
work of my family and the other settlers.

As I sit here on this small rock I recall all those terrible experiences in the winter of 1607,
but now things are looking much better for Jamestown. Winter has ended, and the warm breeze
of spring can be felt in the air. My father and some other men are planting corn fields and
vegetable gardens, and are constantly plowing new land to feed the growing population of
Jamestown. My father has reserved land to plant his tobacco fields, and my mother is tending to
the new foal that was born yesterday. The bountiful food and the last structures of Jamestown
finished, I am allowed to play with the other kids in the nearby pond. A council is being help in
the town hall to disuse the future of Jamestown. My father and mother are attending this event,
but I am obligated to stay home. Captain Christopher Newport, the captain of the Discovery, will
also be attending this event. The Captain and my father say that this council will change the fate
of Jamestown, and may lead to the founding of a new country.

I do not fully understand why I am not allowed to attend this event, but I would rather
stay home and play with my dolls. England was what I called home not one year ago, but now I
know that Jamestown is my new home and will remain so for many decades to come. I know that
Jamestown will not diminish like many other colonies, I know in my heart it is something bigger
than a settlement.

Bibliography

http://www.history.com (Retrieved from web on: 10/2/12)

http://thesaurus.com/ (Retrieved from web on: 10/2/12)
http://www.wikipedia.org/ (Retrieved from web on: 10/2/12)
http://www.nps.gov (Retrieved from web on: 10/3/12)