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Factors of colonization in america
What factors contributed to the colonization of the "new world
Factors of colonization in america
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In 1607 110 male colonists were sent to establish the first English settlement in the new world. Of those first colonists, only 40 survived the first year in Jamestown. So what was the reason so many colonists died? There were three main categories that held key points as to why this colony was a deathtrap. Those three categories were problems environmentally, with the settlers, and with the Native Americans. To begin, the colonists had many environmental issues. For example, in document B it shows us that in the early years when Jamestown was first settled, 1607 through 1612, there was a major drought which caused fresh water to become scarce. The lack of water affected the growth of crops. Second, most of the colonists were not suited
Against all Odds is a very interesting Documentary that follows the early settlement of Jamestown in the 17th century .With endless against the odds situations thrown out in from of the people of Jamestown left and right things seemed bleak. But a lot of perseverance from the early settlers including the Documentaries depiction of the original leader John Smith things seemed to resolve themselves. In Documentary there were several parts where it conceited with what is in chapter three of the Textbook the American Promise. For example, In the Documentary when the subject of the Tobacco business came up it was exampled in the same way as the first page of chapter three. With examples of how the product was grown and distributed out into the world. Making it a very valuable trade to be doing although very labor intensive, which is why it would soon lead into the slave trade. Something that was briefly shown in the documentary mainly to show what lengths the people of Jamestown were willing to go to make things work out in their new home.
Looking at the early English colonies in the Chesapeake Bay region, it’s clear that the English had not learned any lessons from their experiences at Roanoke. Poor planning, a bad location, unrealistic expectations, flawed leadership, unsuccessful relations with the local Indians, and no hope of finding the mineral wealth the Spanish found in Mexico, all contributed to failure. The first colonists in the Chesapeake region were not only ignorant, lazy and unambitious, but their attempts were hampered before they had begun. However, a solution to these problems was found in a single plant: tobacco. Nevertheless, this cash crop ultimately created numerous problems for the colonists. The ignorance and indolent acts of the Chesapeake colonists to unsuccessfully restore the colony by themselves led to the demise of the colony as a whole especially regarding the planting of agricultural goods for food.
“Why did so many colonists die in early Jamestown?” It isn’t an easy question to answer. In fact, scientists have been trying to figure out the answer for hundreds of years. Nobody knew that when the first British colony was established in 1607, that by 1612 over 400 people would be dead. The three most probable causes are the environment of the colony, the skills of the settlers, and their relationships with the nearby Native Americans. Who knew that these simple factors would play such a role in the course of American History.
They were unprepared for life in the wilderness. Most had the impression that everything would be easy in the new world. The men and boys who first settled in Jamestown were townsmen and gentlemen. “They had come expecting to find gold, friendly Indians, and easy living.” (America: A Narrative History, 57) This information was given to them before making the journey to the new world. The settles were also told they would be provided with everything they would need, but supplies from England were undependable. When they arrived there was no town or any shelter waiting for them. They had to learn how to hunt and grow their own food, which they were not use to or even knew how to do in this untamed world. Captain John Smith took charge of the colony ensuring that of the 38 original survivors had to pull their own weight. He used various means to archive his goals and through his efforts Jamestown pulled through. After a period called the “Starving Time,” (America: A Narrative History, 60), where most of the colonist died, a man named John Rolfe provided a way for the colony to survive. He was able to acquire tobacco seeds from the Spanish and with it he made the colony a source of trade (America: A Narrative History, 61). Tobacco and other grown good where used to improve the lives of the colonies, but their daily lives were still very harsh as they were
The first reason Edmund Morgan proposes for the failure of Jamestown was the poor organization and direction of the colony. The colony was run by a powerless president who was elected by a council. The council, which was appointed by the king had full powers, however, they spent most of their time bickering and fighting instead of governing/running the colony. Prior to the starving winter of 1609-10, John Smith, who was appointed a member of the council, to the disgust of his fellow councilmen, successfully ran the colony. Smith took charge of running the colony only after most of those superior to him in the council (or as president) had either died or returned to England. It
In 1607 colonists first settled in Jamestown. In May of 1610, only 90 people were still alive. So why did so many colonists die at Jamestown? People were dying frequently, with many different causes, like drought, disease, and indian attacks.
It seems that the winter of 1609 was so bad that the many of the colonists died of starvation. They were made to eat their own excrement and flesh. They ate Indians and animals from the colony, including horses, dogs and rats, or anything they could find. But this was hard to believe, as the island was full of food. Maybe the cause of death was drought. Scientists have discovered that the worst drought in many years was between 1604 and 1609. They can tell this because of the tree samples that have been taken. No water meant that crops wouldn't grow, and animals would die, as well as humans. The problem with this theory is that down river, there was excess food. The men could have been too weak to gather food. Why?
Not long after Captain Newport left, the settlers began to succumb to a variety of diseases. They were drinking water from the salty or slimy river, which was one of several things that caused the death of many. The death tolls were high. They were dying from swellings, fluxes, fevers, by famine, and sometimes by wars. Food was running low, though then Chief Powhatan starting to send gifts of food to help the English. If not for the Powhatan Indians help in the early years, the settlement would most likely have failed, as the English would have died from the various diseases or simply
Diseases, something that cannot be seen wiped out majority of the colonists. The brackish water was one that caused many death, with the heat high in the summer, the colonists were force to drink brackish water or perish. Many became sick and experience a slow death of dehydration. (Movie). Death was a common word seen in Jamestown, just as Smith had reported, there are “many dead, [and] some sick”. (Doc. E). Many have died, “kills some 110 colonists form famine and disease…” (Doc. E). More and more die, this is what I see from this, from 100s imported in, to 100s being buried in graves. The environment have set up these conditions for the colonists to overcome, but death is the only solution they have to
It was a difficult life for the first colonists; they had limited labor and were constantly raided by Native Americans. Colonists tried to use the Native Americans as a source of slavery. Most of the colonist’s farms were in forest areas so Native Americans would just leave in to the woods. Colonists were afraid of pressuring them from the fear of getting ambushed by gangs of Native Americans. Another reason Native American men made bad slaves was because the women in the tribes did the agricultural work in the Native American villages.
In spite of the many Indian massacres, Jamestown still grew to be a successful colony. The London Company was the main founder of Jamestown. The London Company's founders believed that there were precious metals in America so they sent a group of settlers to Jamestown. The trip to the Americas was not a very easy one for these settlers. They had to overcome many obstacles just to get to the Americas. In 1619 the House of Burgesses was formed which marked the first legislative body in America. Jamestown was plagued by many disasters. They were faced with one continuous disaster, Indian wars. They fought over land with Indians for many years. The London Company, creation of the colony, and Indian wars all played a major role in the development of Jamestown.
Jamestown was known to be the locus of disease (Salisbury). When Captain Newport left to return to England, he left 104 healthy colonists (Salisbury). Later that summer, a somber attitude had fallen on the colony. A journal showed of deaths by a “bloudie fluxe,” “swelling,” burning fever,” warres, and by a mere famine that had struck the colony. When the first supply arrived in Virginia, 38 of the 104 colonists were barely alive. The amount of death required and demanded an explanation (Salisbury). George Percy had a speculation of a “mere famine,” was a cause of death. There was support of his theory because a colonist’s ration of food for the day consisted of a half pint of wheat and another of barley, mixed in a gruel. This would yield about one-half the caloric intake required for the average active man of the colonist stature (Salisbury). But with the political unrest in the colony, this theory shouldn’t be taken seriously. An outbreak of beriberi was stopped when 4,000 pounds of sturgeon provided enough thiamine(Salisbury). An epidemic of typhoid fever and dysentery is consonant with Percy’s description of death and sickness at Jamestown
Upon their arrival to the New World in May 1607, the newcomers built a settlement and established it as Jamestown. Of the 104 settlers, many were “gentlemen” and ill suited for the tasks ahead. The area was swamp… warm, humid and riddled with mosquito infested malarial bogs of water and parasites carrying numerous other diseases. In their haste to find wealth and the Northwest Passage to Asia, the men neglected to plant crops to replenish their food supplies, which were dwindling rapidly. Within eight months of their arrival only thirty-eight colonists were still alive. A young captain, John Smith, would become the settlement’s new leader. He enforced a policy decreeing, “He that will not worke shall not eate.” Under his leadership the colony was revived but when injured by a gunpowder explosion in 1609 he was sent back to England. John Ratcliffe was elected to take his place and under his command the settlers would experience what would come to be known as “the starving times”. Come the end of winter only sixty survived and many of those only did so by consuming their dead neighbors.
The English had two main colonies in the new world, Jamestown and Plymouth. The first colony was Jamestown, established in Virginia in 1607. Jamestown was settled by Captain John Smith, and was named after King James I. Tobacco was the main export of Jamestown, and became the basis of the Jamestown economy, sending more than 50,000 lbs of the plan back to Europe by 1618 (textbook 46). Jamestown had a very rocky start, many colonists dying in the first few years of the settlement, and the settlers had many problems with natives. Shortly after the arrival of English colonists the Natives attacked them, and were finally forced back by a canon from the English. A very uneasy truce was finally settled between the natives, called the Powhatans, and the English (textbook 44-5). Economic growth and expanding their territories were the main priorities of the English in the Jamestown colonies.
The Jamestown Colony almost failed because of many reasons. First they turned their back on the indians because they were worried that the spanish would attack. Second they were wearing heavy armour because of their fear of the Spanish and they died of heat. Third they build a fort and tried to hide in it so they wouldn’t get killed by the indians, the bad part about that is they couldn’t get food.