Why So Many Colonists Died In Jamestown

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According to George Eliot,“But what we call our despair is often only the painful eagerness of unfed hope”. It seemed like there was no hope in Early Jamestown as the number dead increased. More colonists dead becomes a tragedy to the whole community. They needed all the help they could get from farming to fighting Indians. There were many problems that the colonists faced. Every incident became another roadblock. From 1607-1610 in Jamestown, many colonists died in a variety of ways. Three main problems why so many colonists died in Jamestown are Indian attacks, starvation, and disease.
One reason so many colonists died in Jamestown is Indian attacks. The number killed by Indian attacks increased. The first Indian attack in Jamestown set on May 26, 1607. 2 die in the first Indian attack on Fort James (Fausz 63). Fausz also said that in August through October in 1607, “At least 3 more die in Indian ambushes”(63). Of 100 men at
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Much of starvation would come in winter. The 1608-1609 winter led to starvation killing eight colonists(Fausz 63). Francis West and his thirty-six men traded corn with the Indians. The Indians gave them a decent supply of grain, but it was not enough to last the winter. As a result, Francis West and his men used it to feed themselves while going back to England. Hume said, “No one doubted that this new supply of grain would help, but it would not be enough to last the winter.” (61). The Jamestown Drought occurred from 1606-1612 where there was no fish available. (57). According to Blanton, “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…”(55). Brackish water would kill the fish also leading to starvation. Brackish water itself turned to starvation because not much fresh water was available. Starvation was a huge part why so many colonists died because food was very