Jamestown Colony Business Plan

Planning the Jamestown Colony
Judging from the events that occurred when first establishing the Jamestown colony, several conditions could have been altered to ensure a prosperous start to this settlement. As stated by John Smith in a letter to the Virginia Company titled the Rude Reply, "When you send [passengers] again I entreat you rather send but thirty carpenters, husbandmen, gardeners, fishermen, blacksmiths, masons, and diggers up of trees' roots, well-provided, than a thousand of such as we have. For except we be able to lodge and feed them, most will consume with want of necessaries before they can be made good for anything." This quote demonstrates the importance of the selection of people sent to initially colonize Jamestown. Several

of the early settlers consisted of acquitted prisoners, indentured servants, and laborers-- few of whom were skilled in trades such as described by John Smith. In planning the Jamestown colony, I would instead have chosen skilled craftsmen, farmers, medical practitioners, and ample laborers for the first colonial establishment.
Location is also a highly influential component of a successful settlement, as seen in the early years at Jamestown, The settlers were plagued with a prevalent disease transmitted by the immense population of malaria-infested mosquitoes, which were concentrated in the lowland areas where Jamestown was located. This caused the mortality rate to rapidly increase; and the dwindling population was disadvantageous towards the advancing of the colony. Thus, the area I would have chosen for the creation of the settlement is the highland portion of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, instead of the lowlands.
After selecting the proper location and choosing suitable people to settle the colony, the appropriate quantity of supplies must be delivered to the colony. Jamestown suffered from an inadequate amount of supplies, resulting in severe starvation, illness, and death. These tragedies occurred because of the rapidly increasing population of settlers, and the diminishing supply of provisions. Thus, I would have equipped the ships with a sufficient amount of goods to withstand ten years of colonial growth.
Discussing the matter of government, the colony of Jamestown had a representative government, with a parliamentary appointed governor and elected burgesses. Because the settlers could only vote for the representatives, not the governor, discontentment was breeded within the colony. If the colonists disagreed with a political decision the governor made, rebellion promptly followed. The insubordinate behavior of the settlers subverted the authority and dignity of King James I. For this reason, although considered unconventional to the English during that era, I would have established a Republican government that maintained the same constitutional rights that the forefathers of our country would later institute in the 18th century. This way, the people of the Virginia colony would have the authority to appoint both the governor and representatives through the process of election.
Finally,