Death, illness, and rebellion: these are a few of the effects that came about during the early years of settlement at Jamestown. It began in the year 1607. Many Englishmen were looking for a fresh start, others wanted to escape the evils of English government.1 This was the founding of the colony of Jamestown, a village created by a variety of people. With over one hundred people to begin with, the people quickly created a system. John Smith, one of the first English settlers in 1608, stood up and took the responsibility of leading the colonists in the new world.
The colonists arrived on land, destined to begin a life of freedom. This land had no government or laws to begin with. This created a standard that was set in the town. Either you were a farmer in the land, or a gold digger. Controversy struck because those who were gold diggers had a far smaller food supply than the farmers. As a result, many people died of starvation; the ones who had a sufficient food supply, prospered. The colony of Jamestown was one filled with diversity; not only did the people that inhabited it possess individualistic traits, but also their ambitions were far and wide.
Farming resources were few, due the amount of farmers per person in the village being vastly different. Each day brought new death counts; most days, this number ranged from ten to twenty per day.2 This not only scared the colonists who were present in Jamestown, but also destroyed the newcomers’ dreams. Though these deaths were early in the process in the creation of Jamestown, it was certain that the colony was struggling at the beginning. By leaving a country full of resources, wealth, and culture for a doomed colony, it became clear that this was a suicide mission. This mentality did not last long though. As farmers began to branch out and find new crops and faster ways to farm, the society of Jamestown began to become more enriched and luring for people looking to find a new start on the east coast of America.
Suddenly, a door opened and the proclaimed leader of the colonists, John Smith, began to create a system that would bring life back to Jamestown. The colonists found a new resource that would be demanded heavily back in England: tobacco.3 Tobacco had been introduced into the European world by Columbus, and it had since taken off. But instead of creating a system that aided Jamestown as a whole, many people took up their own practice in growing it and set the town apart from others.4 This was good for Jamestown, with a steady income from tobacco, food, and money with trade, the colony of Jamestown was the first English settlement to survive in the New World. This colony would change the views of many Europeans and Englishmen looking to find a new life, and if you were going to move anywhere it might possibly be to Jamestown.
- Alvin Rabushka, “Constitutional Government and Politics in England, 1607–1688,” in Taxation in Colonial America (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008), 71. ↵
- Virginia Bernhard, “Men, Women and Children at Jamestown: Population and Gender in Early Virginia, 1607-1610,” The Journal of Southern History 58, no. 4 (1992): 603. ↵
- Natalie Zacek, “Kupperman, The Jamestown Project; and Kelso, Jamestown: The Burried Truth,” The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, 64, no. 3 (2007): 656. ↵
- Virginia Bernhard, “Men, Women and Children at Jamestown: Population and Gender in Early Virginia, 1607-1610,” The Journal of Southern History 58, no. 4 (1992): 604. ↵
36 comments
Vianey Centeno
This article’s treatment of Jamestown’s history caught my attention. In history studies, I had already learned about the establishment of Jamestown. The most successful European colony in the New World was not Jamestown. The settlement’s original site did not yield enough crops. Tobacco was the only crop that could be effectively grown in the community. In general, this piece was well-written and instructive.
Aaron Sandoval
This article was very interesting and well done and did a good job of covering the founding of Jamestown and the many events that occurred. In my opinion, the story of Jamestown is relatively well know from what we are taught at school, but there is still so much that we may never know regarding the events that occurred. This article was a nice refresher into the story of Jamestown.
Franchesca Baldwin
It was nice to finally get a more in-depth understanding of England’s first settlement and see how it connected to problems later on in history. I’m curious on Jamestown relations with Native Americans, since the only real mainstream story on that subject in through Disney’s Pocahontas. This article does provide a deeper insight into the colonies ways of innovation and survival strategies that come as a surprise to me personally
Michael Leary
Interesting article, I have heard about the Jamestown colony and its struggles before in United States history and was nice to read about it again. It seems as if there were many problems in early Jamestown, with the limited supply of food being one of the larger issues. It was interesting to hear about how the introduction of tobacco as a cash crop made the colony profitable again.
Amariz Puerta
This was a very intriguing article and I really enjoyed the way it was articulated. It really interested me to see the beginning of the American colonies. I always thought that it was so crazy to see how through years we have progressed so much. The first American colonies were also so innovated and have brought us a long way.
Andrew Petri
This is very interesting to see how one of the first American colonies got its start. It was neat to see how they did not get off to a great start, but over time grew and began its own economic activity. Finding out that the selling of tobacco started all the way back then and to see how far it has come in todays society. What all started with a colony struggling to survive, became a multi-billion dollar industry.
Oscar Ortega
The colony of Jamestown is a very famous one, it’s pivotal role in the potential for land and agriculture was one of the catalysts in what would eventually be the formation of the 13 colonies and from there the United States of America. Without Jamestown history might have taken a radically different path. This article does a good job of renewing what many of us have already learned, and adding lesser-known but very important background information as well.
Madison Guerra
This was a very interesting take on the birth of Jamestown. I think the base idea of leaving and starting fresh somewhere new was a good idea, but it wasn’t very well thought out. Due to the settles not being prepared enough there were many deaths that could’ve been prevented if they had not left, or if they came better prepared. Of course in the long run after all the death Jamestown prospered, but they could have gotten the same outcome with less loss if it was thought out more.
Bictor Martinez
What a great, short article of the colony of Jamestown. The people who left England to start a whole new colony from scratch must have really disliked England and it’s government. It must have been extremely scary living in the early creation of Jamestown. A number of people dying everyday and you are there as a farmer scared for your life. Tobacco was luckily able to save their lives and able to make Jamestown successful despite the problems they had.
Esperanza Rojas
I really liked this article and how it was developed. It is sad that many people went to a new land to start a new life and find new resources but it started out so negatively and hard for people to adjust. It is also interesting that this was potentially the start of how America was created. It had the great start if growing its own economy and society.