Early Jamestown Dbq

Jamestown, one of the first groups to set foot on this place we call, North America. Jamestown referred to North America as the New World, since they did not know what to call it. The English arrived in 1607, the English had a very difficult time in the New World. Which mainly led to death. Many Jamestown colonists died because of, sickness, water difficulties, and starvation.
To begin, water was a huge problem. It affected many, not in a good way. To quote, “Because the adjacent river and creeks became brackish as water levels rose…”(Document A). With the water being contaminated with salt water it restricts the people to being able to ingest it. They had thought of a solution, that solution was to make wells. The wells would

work fine until high and low tide would get salt water in them, resulting in hardly any drinkable water. The river water was very contaminated with something other than just salt water. To reference, “Jamestown’s position at the salt-freshwater transitions, where filth introduced into the river tended to fester rather than flush away”(Document A). Since they put all of their waste in the river, it would be pushed farther in the river. Resulting in that filth to just sit there and rot, the colonists would drink and use the river water for everyday activities. With no good drinking water means no water to drink, which leads to dehydration. With the river water not being drinkable, the only solution is to rely on the rain. That is a major problem when there is no rain. Document B states, longest time without rain water was about 1608-1612. That is about the same time that the English came and made their colony. With out rain water there is no drinking water that is good, they did not know the river would have been infected. Which led many to become sick and then die. For those reasons that is why water was a huge result in death in the Jamestown colony.
Sickness and disease was another huge reason why many Jamestown colonists died, once the colonists got sick they would usually die. The colony did not have very much medication, they could have not had any medicine. To quote ¨...filth introduced into the river tended to fester rather than flush away...¨ (Document A). Since there was filth in the water it would create bacteria in the water, the colonists would drink the river water. They figured when they deposited the waste in the river it would be taken away by the ocean, instead it was pushed further when low and high tide occurred. It would sit there while they used this water, it would cause many diseases. Even though the colonists were sick they would still drink that water. Secondly, the colony had very useless jobs. They did not have jobs that would help people. According to document c there were 69 gentlemen and 2 surgeons. Gentlemen were men who did not get their hands dirty, surgeons were doctors. With many people being sick and only two surgeons, patients would not receive proper care. One more reason that disease was a reason why the Jamestown colonists died is, “...river and creeks became brackish as water levels rose…” (Document A). With the wells and river being contaminated with salt water, colonists could not hydrate. Resulting in dehydration, which only makes the diseases worse. For those various reasons that is why sickness was a main cause of death for Jamestown colonists.
Another huge reason why many Jamestown colonists died is because of a time that occurred while they were there.