Early Jamestown Research Paper

When colonists from England arrived in Jamestown they had no idea of the hardship that followed. They came from England in 1607 looking for riches and wealth and new land after they had failure in the past. Jamestown, which is in present day Virginia, had a Native American tribe called the Powhatans living throughout the land. They would cause the colonists many deaths, because of attacks. By 8 months, there would only be 40 colonists out of the 110 original living in Jamestown. Colonists died in early Jamestown because of three main problems. These problems were starvation, sickness, and not so good Indian relations.
One main problem was starvation. There was a shortage in water and food while colonists lived in Jamestown. According to Dennis …show more content…
According to Roden, there were only a few English settlements that were spread far apart, and many Powhatan settlements that covered the land of Jamestown. (Roden 47) The English colonists were surrounded by the Indians! This lead to attacks in the early life in Jamestown, til later on in the land’s history. From J. Frederick Fausz’s record of population in Jamestown, “Of 120 men stationed near the falls, the Indians kill ‘neere half’”( 63) These were simple attacks to large and much greater attacks that killed more and continued to kill even more colonists. Ivor Noel Hume explains, “Though the West was able to load his small ship with grain, the success involved, ‘some harsh and cruel dealinge by cutting of towe of the Salvages heads and other extremetyes.’”(61) The Indians did not want to trade with the colonists of Jamestown. They made trade happen sometimes with fighting and arguing. This caused a lack food for the colonists, because they didn’t trade. J. Frederick Fausz records, 108 colonists died from Indian attacks. (Fausz 63) If the Indians did not attack, then there would have been much more colonists that lived and prospered. Indian relations caused colonists to die and decreased food in

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