Early Jamestown Dbq Essay

In May of 1607, three English ships with approximately 110 people arrived in the Chesapeake Bay. It was supposed to be a very successful journey and they were going to colonize the New World. Hope was very high because there were thought to be many riches in the New World and perhaps even a hidden trade route to China. However, settlement was not easy at all. 110 men arrived in spring and by December only 40 were left. Why did so many colonists die in early Jamestown from 1607 to 1611? Well all these deaths occurred because of environmental problems, the colonist’s settler skills and their relations with the Indians.

The first reason that so many colonist died in Jamestown was because there were environmental problems. According to Document …show more content…
According to Document C, of all of the settlers who traveled to the New world there were no farmers. This was very problematic for them because how were they expected to survive if nobody knew how to grow food for themselves. They had very poor settlers skills because they didn’t think that they would need farmers but they would need perfumers. If the colonists had good settler skills then they would not have gone through the starving time and they would have found a way to use what they had to survive. According to Document F Captain Smith states “But the occasion was our own, for want of providence, industry, and government and not the barrenness and defect of the country as is generally supposed.” Captain Smith is basically saying it was their own fault that they struggled in settling. They cared too much about claiming land and finding riches such as gold and silver that they forgot that they had to survive first and then look for things that would benefit their empire. Also, after Captain Smith left, the settlers didn’t have a proper leader. According to Document F soon after John Smith left the colonists endured a period of great hardships they called “the starving time.” Not only did they not know how to survive, they were lost without a good

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