...Early Jamestown: Why Did So Many Colonists Die? Suppose you have to live in an infested, uncommon, and to you an inhabitable land. You come with 100 other men, some dressed in cloth, some dressed in rages. How would the relationship be between you, the environment, unknown aliens, and your “companions?” The spring of 1607, three English ships with a hundred passengers came across the Atlantic, through the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, and up the James River. Their intention was to create the first permanent English settlement in the “New World”, teach the ways of Jesus Christ to the Native peoples, find a trade route to China, and gather riches. Though only in the first few years of this “permanent” settlement, it started to parish. People...
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...came to Jamestown for what seemed like a good life, they didn’t expect to have as many hardships as they did. Jamestown was located in the Colony of Virginia and was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. In 1607, 110 male settlers came to the Americas to come to Jamestown, but by December, 70 settlers died—leaving 40 settlers left. How did a seem-to-be wonderland like Jamestown end up to be a ghost town? Well, this is due to shortages of water and periods of major drought, shortages of food, and tension among surrounding Native American tribes and English settlers. First, having little to no water effects life drastically. In paragraph 2 of Document A, the author states,”Because the adjacent river and creeks became brackish as water levels rose, reliable sources of fresh water would have been scarce by the seventeenth century.” Without having access to clean and fresh water the settlers would have become dehydrated. In paragraph 2 of Document A, the author also states,”...the...
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...The early settlers of Jamestown had arrived in the settlement with the thought that the region would bring much promise and glory to their lives they had left behind in Great Britain. Contrastingly, they received the complete opposite of what they intended, where a mass amount of tragedies occurred amongst their population. Many historians say that the reasons for the mass amount deaths in Jamestown was primarily due to the spread of disease, environmental or natural disasters, or Native-Americans. The predominant reason why many settlers died in Jamestown was due to the numerous confrontations and attacks amongst the settlers and neighboring Native-American tribes. According to Document E: Chronology of English Mortality in Virginia, 1607-1610,...
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...The single most important factor in the colonists deaths in early Jamestown was stupidity. These deaths occurred primarily because they choose to bring the wrong people to be the first settlers in the new colony, they didn’t try hard enough to befriend the Natives, and they didn’t have past experience of farming or having sanitation. Many documents can support this because they show how the colonists did not prepare or try hard enough to succeed in the new colony. The new colonies consisted of settlers that didn't work or were only needed in the colony due to being unprepared. In document C it says,“ Gentleman: 47, 28” This shows that in totally between May 1607 and January 1608 75 gentlemen came to the new colony. A gentleman is a rich...
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...The Deaths of Many The year of 1607 was when the first English settlers arrived and built a fort on a place called James Island, soon to be known as Jamestown. Of the 110 original settlers, only forty survived at the end of December. When January came, there was a restock of English colonists which did save the colony from total extinction, but even that was not enough. In the next two years, hard times came when Captain John Smith, who provided much needed leadership, was sent back to England. In the awful winters of 1609-1610, two thirds of the settlers died. Many of the colonists of Jamestown died because of the unsanitary water, an unprepared population, as well as, the very unfortunate drought. First, many colonists died because of the contaminated water provided in Jamestown. In document A, it describes how Jamestown gave the colonists brackish and polluted water. As the water levels rose, many rivers and creeks became brackish or salty water, therefore making fresh water very rare. Also, according to the historian Carville V. Earle, he claimed that the human waste which got dumped into the rivers, festered and did not flush away. The toxins and harmful diseases...
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...The beginning of the Jamestown colony was filled with challenges. English settlers arrived at the James River in the Chesapeake Bay region, now known as Virginia, in the spring of 1607. Some were looking to start a new life, while others aimed to get rich. Unfortunately for most, the venture ended tragically. By 1611, 400 of the initial 500 colonists had perished. The reasons for this high death rate can be attributed to inadequate water supply, a lack of skilled labor, and poor relations with the Powhatan people. Water posed several problems for the settlers. Firstly, the drinking water was brackish, meaning it was too salty for safe consumption. This made the settlers sick (Doc A). Additionally, because of the tides, the river water was often...
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...Name: Connor Adkins Early Jamestown DBQ Essay What Caused the Death of So Many Early Jamestown Colonists? Imagine four and a half months on the sea, less than a year on the ground and nearly everyone you know, dead. That was what early Jamestown was like to the colonists. Jamestown was the second English colony and the first permanent one. King James, who the town was named after, gave John Smith, the established leader for many of the colonies early years, a charter to start the colony at Chesapeake Bay because the location seemed perfect. The location was not perfect. From the evidence provided, the Jamestown colonists were eradicated by lack of freshwater, conflict with natives, and few needed personnel. The colonists...
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...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...
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...which is located in Virginia, Jamestown. Jamestown wasn't what they expected it all to be. They had poor settling skills and useless people that came just for the sake of making money. Also, they had big problems with getting along with the natives that appeared to be there before them, and the Englishmen didn't realize that they would be drinking salt water if the Atlantic Ocean is connected to the James river. Anyone would know salt water isn't good for any humaning being to drink. As days, months, and years went on things seemed to get worse. Englishmen were dying from whatever was going on that modern day scientist seemed to figure out. By seventeenth century Jamestown’s river know as the James River, the water has become brackish and slimy (Doc A). Due to the Englishmen taking baths and putting their waste in the water. So since...
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...were not alone; there were at least 15,000 Powhatan Indians living in small villages. Furthermore, one reason that can have caused many deaths could have been because of the drought that they had to live through. According to Doc B, in the years, 1600 and 1610, Jamestown suffered the longest unbroken period of drought....
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...AP World History Survival Guide Name ________________________________ Teacher __________________________ Block _________________ Table of Contents | Pages | AP World History Overview | 3 – 7 | The AP Exam | 3 | World Regions | 4 – 5 | Five Course Themes | 6 | Four Historical Thinking Skills | 7 | Essays Overview | 8 - 15 | Document-based Question (DBQ) | 8 – 12 | Change and Continuity over Time (CCOT) | 13 – 15 | Comparative Essay | 16 – 18 | Released Free Response Questions | 19 – 20 | AP Curriculum Framework | 21 – 38 | Period 1 (Up to 600 B.C.E.)—5% | 21 – 22 | Period 2 (600 B.C.E. to 600 C.E.)—15% | 23 – 25 | Period 3 (600 to 1450)—20% | 26 – 28 | Period 4 (1450 to 1750)—20% | 29 – 31 | Period 5 (1750 to 1900)—20% | 32 – 35 | Period 6 (1900 to the present)—20% | 36 – 38 | Help with Some Confusing Subjects | 39 – 43 | Chinese Dynasties | 39 | Political, Economic, and Social Systems | 40 | Religions | 41 | Primary Sources | 42 | “Must Know” Years | 43 | * Many of the guidelines in this study packet are adapted from the AP World History Course Description, developed by College Board. The AP Exam Purchasing and taking the AP World History exam are requirements of the course. This year, the AP World History exam will be administered on: ___________________________________________ Format I. Multiple...
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...AP World History Survival Guide Name ________________________________ Teacher __________________________ Block _________________ Table of Contents | Pages | AP World History Overview | 3 – 7 | The AP Exam | 3 | World Regions | 4 – 5 | Five Course Themes | 6 | Four Historical Thinking Skills | 7 | Essays Overview | 8 - 15 | Document-based Question (DBQ) | 8 – 12 | Change and Continuity over Time (CCOT) | 13 – 15 | Comparative Essay | 16 – 18 | Released Free Response Questions | 19 – 20 | AP Curriculum Framework | 21 – 38 | Period 1 (Up to 600 B.C.E.)—5% | 21 – 22 | Period 2 (600 B.C.E. to 600 C.E.)—15% | 23 – 25 | Period 3 (600 to 1450)—20% | 26 – 28 | Period 4 (1450 to 1750)—20% | 29 – 31 | Period 5 (1750 to 1900)—20% | 32 – 35 | Period 6 (1900 to the present)—20% | 36 – 38 | Help with Some Confusing Subjects | 39 – 43 | Chinese Dynasties | 39 | Political, Economic, and Social Systems | 40 | Religions | 41 | Primary Sources | 42 | “Must Know” Years | 43 | * Many of the guidelines in this study packet are adapted from the AP World History Course Description, developed by College Board. The AP Exam Purchasing and taking the AP World History exam are requirements of the course. This year, the AP World History exam will be administered on: ___________________________________________ Format I. Multiple...
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