Drought In Early Jamestown

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Early Jamestown. They arrived prepared to earn thousands and to populate the Indian conquered lands. Yet, only 20% will survive in the disastrous water, winter, and the Indians revenge. The water was filled with human filth and salt. They didn’t have any food or doctors. Almost every single person either ran away or died. They didn’t have enough food and more people kept coming. There was also a lack of rainfall that the colonists needed to plant their seeds and to drink. According to Dennis B. Blanton said in “Jamestown’s Environment,” “English colonists dug shallow wells to supply themselves with sources of drinking water, but these were vulnerable to drought and salt water intrusion.” The tide and what they dumped in the water was also very gross and it made the island flood a lot. It shows that Jamestown had a good 7 years in drought. They also had hardly any rainfall even when it was monsoon season. (Science). This also prevented them from growing …show more content…
The colony was struck with the summer sickness. It kills almost half of the colonists every year. In “Jamestown’s Environment” by Dennis B. Blanton it states, “... disease in the early years to Jamestown’s position at the salt-freshwater transition, where filth introduced into the river tended to fester rather than flush away.” The water was very filthy and salty. They were also getting no rain whatsoever. They also had a lack of medical workers. In The Generall Historie of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles, Book III, Adapted from John Smith, it says, in the Original Settlers May 1607 there was only one surgeon and no druggists, In the 1st resupply January 1608 there was 2 druggists and one more surgeon. (Smith 59) Again, tons and tons of people kept coming so more mouths to feed. No food = getting sick. No one likes getting sick, right. Well, it means no school. If you were in Jamestown sick? You’d wish you were back at school