Nightmare In Jamestown Movie Analysis

In this documentary by The National Geographic, The New World: Nightmare in Jamestown captures what it must have been like for the settlers of Jamestown. It takes place in an archeological site which is owned by the APVA where they found remains of the original men who first arrived to the New World and who set up the colony at Jamestown. They were sent by the Virginia Company in hopes of being able to bring home gold and other riches that the Spanish had already been taking advantage of. Unfortunately, in the process, they faced disease, death, hunger, and hostility from the Indians.
They arrived on a ship with 108 men led by Bartholomew Goznold, the founding father no one knew, who found Jamestown. They were sent by an English company in

hopes of striking it rich but before they even set foot in the New World, things did not look so good. John Smith wrote in a journal which described how the men were not ready for such an expedition. Some of the colonists were not accustomed to the hard conditions at Jamestown and hard work because the upper class expected the commoners to work. They were falsely mislead that the Indians would help them as before they arrived chief Powhatan was warned of whites overtaking their land. When they did arrive, tensions were already high. The Indians used guerilla warfare as their attack strategy and the Englishmen were poorly equipped as they expected to be fighting the Spanish not the Indians. They decided to build a fort to protect them and in about a few weeks it was completed which showed their immediate threat and need of protection. The Indians could fire multiple arrows in the time it took to fire and reload a musket.
In the summer, they colonists were not accustomed to the humidity and heat and their clothing did not aid in handling the heat.

With this heat and also a drought that summer, the fresh water around them became saturated by salt and it is believed they also died of salt poisoning. With all these events, deaths, and hardships the colonists were now just fighting for survival. With their store of wheat and barley thin, starvation drove them to cannibalism, eating dogs, cats and other animals. With all the deaths and less and less able bodied men, with about 60 men alive and only 6 months in, they decided to execute a man just because he was believed to be a spy. This shows how they were still weary of a Spanish attack and needed guidance.
After their original leader, Bartholomew Goznold, dies, John Smith takes up his leadership position. Determined to survive and keep the colony going, he starts learning and observing the ways of the Indians. He tried to learn their language as well and tried to break the language barrier. He took a big gamble and came into the Indian camp to speak to chief Powhatan to bargain for food. Luckily for him, Powhatans daughter, Pocahontas, influenced her father to aid the Englishmen and John was able to secure food for the

colonists.
However, through it all, the colony managed to survive and more and more started to take the Journey across the Atlantic. Although mysteries remain as to who and why someone hit the man on the head with the blunt weapon and who could have drilled into his head in this ancient form of surgery or why another man was accused of spying, the colony ended up flourishing other land grants were given to colonize the Americas. Although they never found gold or jewels, they did find tobacco which brought in profit and an economy to the newly found colony.