Colonists's Relationship With Native Americans

Throughout the course of history, the majority of people have always been shown to eventually and always, die. This was especially shown when the people were colonizing for the English and were trying to colonize the Americas. Many colonists escaped Europe by means of transportation to escape a harsh life, and in hopes of finding a new land where they would not be kept down by something they all called a glass ceiling. The colonists wanted to choose for themselves and wanted a place where they could freely practice their religion and their cultures. In addition, they wanted to establish a stable colony and also wanted a stable trade to the mainland of Europe. Unfortunately, the Americas were not as hospitable as everyone thought it to be.

The colonists were met with many dangers that they were unprepared for. The English also experienced an unprecedented loss of the Roanoke colony, in which the colony was lost to unknown reasons. The colonists finally found new land in Virginia, in which they founded the colony of Jamestown. The colonists had rough relationships with the Native Americans and experienced death from many environmental factors.

The colonists were also killed by their relationships with the Native Americans.

Unlike Plymouth, the colonists in Jamestown did not have good relationships with the Native Americans. This caused them to kill each other, thinning the colonists’ numbers even more. The colonists did not realize that their movements into the New World angered the 15,000 Powhatan Native Americans already living there. Document D by ​Ivor Noel Hume, The Virginia Adventure, Alfred A. Knopf, 1994 shows how a trading incident went haywire. In 1609, “Francis West and thirty-six men sailed up the Chesapeake Bay to try to trade for corn with the Patawomeck Indians…” This event proved to be futile, since the Indians did not want to trade and the “success” involved killing the Native Americans. Their horrible relationship with the Native Americans was shown again in Document E by J. Frederick Fausz, in the book “An Abundance of Bloodshed on Both Sides: England’s First Indian War, 1609-1614,” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, January 1990. On may 26, 2 colonists are the first to die ever in the colony by an “Indian attack on Fort James.” The next event written down explains how at least 3 more colonists fall to the Native American ambushes. In addition, in December, the Pamunkey Native Americans kill 2 more colonists. The last two events stated show that of the 100 men at Nansemond, the Native Americans kill half of them, leaving the men at Nansemond with only 50 left. In addition, the last

event recording in November-May of 1610 the Powhatan’s siege of Jamestown kills a whopping 110 colonist from famine and disease, while 33 of the colonists die from the Native Americans, and another 37 of the colonists flee the colony for safety.

The colonists were definitely kept down by the fact that there were many environmental factors involved.

This was shown in an adapted text from “The Lost Colony and Jamestown Droughts,” Science, in April 24, 1998. The chart shows how the colonists died because of the lack of water. The drought levels were very low in many times of the year. The droughts would cause a lack of crops as well in that time period. This meant that the colonists were dying even more due to the fact that the droughts would allow less time for the crops to grow. Not only were they kept down by this, they also struggled to keep themselves in a good working condition due to the fact that the first few colonists were just poor people who wanted a new life. These servants wanted to pay off a debt to their debtors and wanted a new life for themselves. But, they were completely unprepared for the swampy environment that would prove to be very unfruitful for harvesting and growing crops. When the colonists finally established a firm tobacco crop trade with the mainland, their colony had grown a lot smaller than it had before. Their colony was on the brink of extinction. In addition, according to Document A by Dennis B. Blanton of the William and Mary College, the colonists threw their own waste in the water source, expecting it to wash away and be gone. But, the water did not do that, and the waste, which proved to be too dense, stayed in the water and “tended to fester rather than flush away.” This proved

to be unsanitary and killed many colonists as well.

In conclusion, the colonist faced tough time while they were in the Americans setting up a colony. If not for them, we would not be here today. They provided the foundation for the People of America to begin their gradual colonization efforts and finally, build the powerful nation that America is today. Although the strain of the colonists were great, they overcame the many difficulties that led to the large numbers of colonist deaths in America. Now, as we look back as American citizens, we commend the colonists, young and old, for their amazing efforts that would create the strong nation today.