Why Did The Powhatans Move To America

Sam Watson
Mrs. Greenlee
English III – 2nd Period
November 19, 2016 Ever wondered what it took to move to America? This process took several years and many trials and errors. When arriving to the Americas, the first problems were getting food, the natives already living here, the expansion needed to grow further in the Americas, and diseases that struck the colony. The colonization of the Americas took several years and was tedious. The colonization was hard and made it seem impossible. The Powhatans living in the nearby area proved to be a challenge since the colony of Jamestown was right into an important hunting area for them. Their entire lives are spent on getting or growing food. The seasons were their way of life (Jamestown). Their

The English people had no experience in farming since most of them were craftsmen and the upper class gentlemen (History). Not only did they arrived after the season was over for planting the crops, the Indian didn’t have enough food to supply the entire town of Jamestown. When the English continued to ask the nearby Indians for more food, the relations began to sour. John Smith had to return to England due to an explosion, relations and trading with the Powhatans strongly declined (Jamestown). That winter became known as the “Starving Time.” The Indians laid siege to the town. This meant that no one could leave the fort. No hunting and no fishing meant the the settlers ate anything they could get hands on. Horses, dogs, cats, snakes, rats, and snails were some of the delicacies that were eaten by the settlers (History). This also could imply cannibalism occurred when settlers died in the fort. At the end of this time, the governor, Lord De La Warr, demanded that everyone stay in the fort and started strict military rule. This rule had harsh penalties for stealing food and also swearing. Slowly the colony began to

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