The very survival of the early settlers to the New World would depend much upon the generosity of the Native Americans. Had the natives not been so helpful and had instead violently resisted the newcomers, European settlers might not have been so eager to come settle this new land. Both Jamestown and Plymouth would depend upon the goodwill of the native people for their initial survival while establishing their settlements. The Indians not only introduced the area’s indigenous food sources but also their agriculture techniques to the settlers. The settlers would depend upon these for their survival in a new and unfamiliar land. Being able to provide their own food would be the first step in successfully establishing the new colonies, once the settlers were able to do this their numbers grew. With that growth in population came a desire for more settlement territory, it would be this desire for more land that would lead to unrest between the Native Americans and the settlers.
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.
Along with the difficult situation of food shortages, there were also skirmishes with the local Native Americans. Legend holds that in 1608 Captain John Smith’s life would be spared only due to the pleas from Indian leader Powhatan’s young daughter Pocahontas, who brought food and clothing to the colonis...
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...rs to this New World ultimately succeeded due to the generosity of the local natives, and due to the fact there was no unification of the local native tribes. Had the Indian natives never helped the settlers learn top plant native crops and provided aid during times of starvation, the settlers’ success would have been limited. Many times settlements were saved from the brink of extinction upon Indian intervention. If Indian tribes had been able to unite together when the settlers first began to arrive, they might have been able to join forces and win a battle against the new arrivals while the colonists numbers were still few. Had the new colonists been faced with an organized fighting force that killed them upon arrival, the European’s might have been too frightened to continue to send new arrivals for fear of slaughter. In the end it would be the English settlers who would prevail… their vast numbers, superior weapons, and unified forces would overcome Indian resistance.
Bibliography:
The World Book Encyclopedia (1999) www.jamestown.org Agriculture, Indians, and American History – www.cals.edu/aagexed/aee502/indians.html
The American Journey, A History of the United States
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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.
The first years of settlement at Jamestown was tragedy struck for English settlers. In May 1607, 110 English settlers arrived in Virginia to start a colony. They wanted to find resources and become rich. By 1612 however, almost of the settlers who had arrived at Jamestown were dead. So why is the reason why so many people died? There are three factors to consider including the environment, settler skills, and their relations with native Americans.
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John Smith explains the hardships of the voyage in the “General History of Virginia” he and others endured. While finally landing on land and discovering the head of the Chickahamania River, The colony endured Disease, severe weather, Native American attacks, and starvation all threatened to destroy the colony. Smith talks about his accomplishments of being a “good leader” and how he helped in many ways. John Smith was captured by the Native Americans and brought back to the camp. Within an hour, the Native Americans prepared to shoot him, but the Native Americans done as Chief Powhatan ordered and brought stones to beat Smiths brains out. John Smith gave an ivory double compass to the Chief of Powhatan. The Native Americans marveled at the parts of the compass. After the Native Americans admired the compass for an hour Chief Powhatan held...
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...The Natives did have a chance didn’t have a chance to defend their lands. Their chances of keeping their heritage become slimmer and slimmer within each decade. When the English and the Spanish first arrive, the Native that were there at time could hold the outsiders off for a limited amount of time. The tribes weren’t completely united. If all of the tribes acted as one single force, the Natives would had a better chance. The many Native rebellions show that they had the motivation ,and at some points of time, to take back their land. The Native Americans also learned to use guns and had great strategic plans. However, by the time they were somewhat united, the enemy was either equal in manpower or completely overshadowed the Natives forces. Due to the forced moves, the deadly illness, and lack of unity, the Natives didn’t have a good chance of defending their land.
The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles by John Smith, portrays the enormous troubles the settlers were faced with by the Native Americans. He explains how he was captured by Indians and also saved by a young Native American girl, Pocahontas. He vividly describes the ceremonies and rituals of the Natives performed before his execution. However, the execution never occurred due to the tremendous mercy showed by the king’s daughter who blanketed John Smith’s body her own. Pocahontas went on to persuade the Native Americans to help the settlers by giving them food and other necessities. Despite her efforts to reach peaceful grounds, her people were still bitter and planned an attacks on the colony. Nevertheless, Pocahontas saved them once again by warning the settlers of attacks. Pocahontas went on to marry an Englishman and traveled to England. She resembled the prosperity and good that was to be found in an untamed land.
America was expanding at such a rapid pace that those who were in America before us had no time to anticipate what was happening. This change in lifestyle affected not only Americans, but everyone who lived in the land. Changing traditions, the get rich quick idea and other things were the leading causes of westward expansion. But whatever happened to those who were caught in the middle, those who were here before us? One of those many who roamed the land before Americans decided that they owned it were the Native Americans.
The Native American’s land was walked upon without respect or remorse, taken, and they were forced onto reservations that were in terrible conditions against their will. The settlers moving west caused the Native Americans and settlers to compete against each other and cause major conflicts between them. I think the Indian Wars could and couldn’t have been avoided because settlers had to move since the illnesses were so bad in the east, and they thought the diseases wouldn’t be in the west, and because they needed the extra land. I also think these wars could have been avoided because the settlers didn’t have to take the Native American’s land and the settlers and Indians could have respected each other much more than they did.