Reasons Why So Many Colonists Died In Jamestown

DBQ: Why did so many colonists die at Jamestown? The king of England, (James I) sent 3 ships in 1607 carrying 100+ people to Jamestown, Virginia. They all hoped to become rich, find gold, and get their own piece of land. This was going to be the 1st permanent english settlement in the new world.

The early people of Jamestown have not fared well throughout history. I can see from the historical fiction book Blood on the River and Chief Powhatan's speech to Captain John Smith that the commoners endured due to a number of social and environmental problems. However, in my opinion, social problems were primarily responsible for more damage. I think it's because the colonists didn't cooperate well and showed no respect for the commoners.

Well many colonists died because of their water supply, their relationship with the natives, and because of their knowledge of survival. These factor lead to early death for most of the colonist. The water supply for Jamestown was brackish, or filthy, and lead to disease.

The colonists didn’t have any experience with keeping things sanitary due to this lack of experience they contributed to the disease and death going around Jamestown. In document A it said, “ colonists dug shallow wells to supply themselves with sources of drinking water.” This shows that they were uneducated in keeping things sanitary and safe, because if they were educated in starting a new colony they would have known that digging a shallow well would only bring in salt water which is deadly when ingested abundantly. Another example of the colonists not keeping things sanitary due to their lack of experience is “ 110 colonists from famine and disease’’ (document E) This is proof that the colonists didn’t have any background experience when

They were required to eat when too sick, but were not allowed much food in general and otherwise. The slaves were scared into staying aboard and not jump to sea to quicken their death. Also, against their greatest will, the slaves were forced to stay packed under the decks with smells, diseases, and conditions that led to many horrid

After researching the documents I have compiled several pieces of evidence. I read data set 3 and found interesting evidence, it says “English settlers first came to Roanoke Island in 1585. Their colony failed, however. They fought with American Indians and they didn’t bring enough supplies.” This supports my theory that the colonists ran out of supplies.

Only sixty of the colonist had survived the harsh winter that will forever be known as the starving times. Sir Thomas Gates and Sir George Summers arrived in May 1610 with 150 people and some supplies from the Bermudas only to find the walking anomalies of Jamestown. Sir Thomas Gates took over as the new governor and order the immediate abandonment of Jamestown. They labored into June to build 4 ships to carry them all back to England. Once all were boarded and sailing down the James river, they spotted another ship headed their way.

Looks like the grim reaper had other plans. Many colonists died in Jamestown, Virginia due to lack of fresh water amestown colonists experienced a drought in the first few years before the indians helped them, (Document B). They experienced drought from about 1561-1576,(Document B)This statement proves they had drought (which means lack of water). Settlers in Jamestown called winter the “starving time” because so many died due to

At least a half-dozen accounts, by people who lived through the period or spoke to colonists who did, describe occasional acts of cannibalism that winter. They include reports of corpses being exhumed and eaten, a husband killing his wife and salting her flesh (for which he was executed), and the mysterious disappearance of foraging colonists. The Starving Time at Jamestown in the Colony of Virginia was a period of starvation during the winter of 1609–1610 in which all but 60 of 214 colonists died. The colonists, the first group of whom had originally arrived at Jamestown on May 14, 1607, had never planned to grow all of their own food.

During 1607-1611, early Jamestown colonists died to many reasons like starvation, occupations, and drought. Colonists did not have many resources to live a long life. That is why they died so fast through 1607-1611. Colonists died because they tried to find a new settlement for more land so they can have more resources and for a stronger defense, but instead they got attacked and there was not a lot of food there to feed them all. Colonists died by attacks by Indians.

Some people tried to starve, but the crew forced them to take food, beating them, tormenting them with hot coal or forcing them to open their mouths with special tools or break their teeth. The mortality caused by various diseases was very high. More than 20 percent have died from various epidemics or committed suicide. Venture Smith, describing his test, wrote: "After the usual passage, except for the great death from pox that erupted on board, we arrived on the island of Barbados, but when we reached it, out of two hundred and sixty that sailed from Africa, not more than two hundred alive.

nother aspect that lead to the destruction in the native colonies was, the separation of families and native tribes. According to the spanish king the spaniard's plan was to weaken the traditional tribe bonds by moving individual members of the tribes far away from each other. (“Indians in Latin America”,1) The natives then had little to no contact with each other.

This was mostly because of the conflicts between the Jamestown settlers and the Indians. There was also a need to help the planters because of the

With their new environments all of the colonists were introduced to new diseases. Poor living conditions, malnutrition, and native diseases caused many fatalities throughout the colonies. Illness ran rampant through each colony, which took out many workers. Jamestown and Plymouth were able to overcome each struggle and become the foundation of the New World.

Some of the deaths of these colonists were caused by freezing to death, some of the deaths were caused by starvation because the animals that they ate where scarce and hibernating and some of the nuts and berries that they gathered were covered in snow. Also many colonists died because of diseases from europe and diseases from the lack of sanitation in the New World. One substantially important difference between Plymouth