Early Jamestown Research Paper

What was it like to live in Early Jamestown? People were dying left and right because disease spread like head lice and the colonists had no skills to treat it nor prevent it. In the 1600s to the 17th century the english settlers were colonizing America in Jamestown, Virginia because they wanted to escape religious prosecution. What was the cause of so many deaths in Jamestown Virginia? The three main reasons for the amount of deaths in Jamestown Virginia were the relations the colonists had with the Powhatans, the environmental issues and the limited amount of skills.
One reason why many colonists died was because of the relationship the colonists had with the Powhatans.”Though West was able to load his (small ship) with grain, sucess involved

“some harshe Crewell dealinge by cutting of towe (two) of the Salvages heads and other extremetyes” (Hume). This quote demonstrates that the colonists had major issues with the Powhatans, involving the killing and threatening as well as stealing from each other because they didn't know how to share without believing they would starve. “2 die in first Indian attack on Fort James” “At least 3 more die in Indian Ambushes” “Of 120 men stationed near falls, the Indians killed ‘neere halfe’” (Fausz). This source comes from The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography which is a Magazine of information on England’s first Indian war, which gives exact reliable dates with evicence supporting it. This evidence shows that due to all the disagreements between the colonists and the Powhatans, it would lead to killing each other. This links to another issue they had with the environment which caused most of the problems the colonists had with the Powhatans. The Powhatans and Colonists did not get along very well but there are reasons that lead to the disagreements, most had to do with the environment itself.
The colonists did have major issues with the Indians but these issues were mostly caused by the environment.

The environment they lived in was a big part of the number of deaths in Early Jamestown. “Disease in the early years to Jamestown’s position at the salt-fresh water transition, where filth introduced into the river tended to fester rather than flush away” (Blanton). This evidence came from the Archaeological Research Center in Virginia.This Center is specialized in accurate information to educate people without giving opinion. Human waste would get dumped into the river, mix with flood water and spread around. Their drinking water would then be filthy and lead to disease. “1600-1620 longest unbroken Jamestown drought” (Science Magazine). This evidence shows the unbroken drought period for Jamestown so there was no water for their crops so they couldn’t grow any food which lead to the starving time in the winter of 1609-1610. This links to another problem they had which was limited skills in things they needed to know to survive.
The most important thing Jamestown needed was settler skills, the amount of deaths was mainly caused from very limited amount of skills they had. “May 1607, 110 male” “Jan 1608 1st resupply, 120 men” (Smith). Even after the first resupply many men already died. This could have been prevented by having more skills on preventing sickness and having doctors. “1607 Aug-Oct Summer sickness kills half the colonist” (Fausz). Once again this shows how

unprepared the colonists were to face sickness and disease, sickness killed the majority of the colonists and the colonists didn’t have a way of controlling it.
There were three main causes for the major death toll in Early Jamestown Virginia, but the primary reason was the fact that the colonists didn’t know anything about farming or curing sickness. The settlement in Early Jamestown was a huge challenge to get through, facing huge conflicts with the environment while at the same time fighting over the land with the Powhatans. To this day people still fight over land but the change in the amount of skills we have in the medical department is absolutely life changing, something that was desperately needed in the Early Jamestown Virginia settlement.