The extreme hardships that the original settlers experienced taught Americans to persevere through tough times. The first settlement was in Jamestown around the time of 1609 to 1611. Life was pretty difficult. They didn't have many jobs and the drought made it hard to grow crops. So they didn't have much to live off of. Many colonist died because of all the diseases, conflicts with Native Americans, and very limited resources.
When the colonist arrived they were not the first to discover the land. Native Americans had called that place home for a long time before the colonist arrived. On May 26th, 1607 two die in the first Indian attack on Fort James (Doc E). The Native Americans clearly were a threat to the colonist in Jamestown. At least five more die in the Indian ambushes from June through August (Doc E). As time went on colonist were still being killed by the Native Americans. “Of 100 men at Nansemond Indians kill 50” (Doc E). Even three years later the Native Americans still strived to …show more content…
“English colonist dug shallow wells to supply themselves with sources of drinking water, but these were vulnerable to drought and salt water intrusion” (Doc A). Even though they persevered and figured out a way to access fresh water, there were still difficulties in keeping it clean or having them dry up. Not only did they struggle getting water but they didn’t have a supply of grain during the long winter. They were able to harvest a new supply in the fall but it didn’t last. “No one doubted that this new supply of grain would help, but it would not be enough to last the winter” (Doc D). Their main source of protein was fish, but again it wasn’t available all year. “Fish are present in local streams, but only in the in the spring and early summer are there in the impressive abundance” ( Doc A). In all, the colonist did not have enough resources for everyone to