Analytical Essay on Early Jamestown: Why Did So Many Colonists Died

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Imagine being hated by a whole culture.

In 1607 English ships sailed into the Chesapeake Bay located in Virginia and Maryland, bringing more than 100 passengers. King of England said, “Faire meadows and goodly tall trees ahead lay possible riches”. The passengers were confident they were going to find riches. At the beginning of Jamestown, a lot of settlers died for these reasons: sickness, natives, and poor leadership. The Powhatans (Indians that lived around James River) did not like the colonist this caused many problems.

Natives always had an issue with the colonist this is one of the many reasons colonists died so quickly. On May, 26th 1607 Indians attacked for the first time. As time passed natives began to kill more and more as the colonist population just kept growing (Doc E). In 1609 Francis West chopped two of the native’s heads off (Doc D). After the natives were aggravated by Francis West, the colonists brought over 250 more people and the natives were at their last strike. The Indians kill nearly half of the new colonists. Not only did natives kill them but sickness struck the colonist too.

Sickness went around the colony. In 1607 we started with 104 colonists. By the end of 1607, we were left with 40. August to October was the first kill from sickness it killed nearly half the colony, leaving us with 49 left. As the winter of 1609 came along the colonist kept strong. We lost only 8 settlers. Diseases return in the summer of 1609 sickened 50 and killed 50. As the number of colonists decreased, we bring more colonies than we have before 250. November- May hits and 110 colonists die from famine and diseases, another 33 from the slain. Lots of the settlers died from sickness but the reason they got sick is another reason.

The settlers had very poor leadership. For example, they didn’t bring women. The woman could have helped in so many ways they would have been able to help make the food last longer or make medicine and help the people in need. As only bringing men they should have thought of the men to bring they didn’t think through who they were bringing. The colony needed more medics and more people that do labor. And most of all Francis West had food for the colonists but he went back to England with it. The colony didn’t think through how to split the food and make sure there was enough.

In conclusion, as you can see the settlers could have survived if they used more common sense.

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