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. ↵
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Recent Comments
Erik Rodriguez
Wow! I never knew about the struggles Jamestown faced early in its establishment. I couldn’t imagine living in a life where you don’t know what to expect. No technology, no cars, with death rates growing … that is just crazy. It definitely opens your eyes about life today and the things we take for granted. Very well written article, great job!
07/12/2016
4:26 am
Johnanthony Hernandez
Interesting how a colony established as new start for people of all walks of life, turn doomed as disease and starvation ran amuck. But had their luck change when they began to trade tobacco back with Europe. With a rough start to becoming the dream that it was intentionally envisioned to be at the beginning of it colonization.
20/01/2017
4:26 am
Oscar Portillo
This was an interesting article and while it had a sentence or two that could have been worded better it was nevertheless effective. I read the book Love and Hate in Jamestown and it truly was a hard place to live in which the author definitely made clear. I am a fan of John Smith but I would have liked to see the inclusion of sir Thomas Dale since he was also a key figure in Jamestown’s early history.
26/01/2017
4:26 am
Aaron Jaramillo
This was a very informative and well written article. I have studied Jamestown before, but did not know early in its establishment the death rates per day ranged from ten to twenty. I couldn’t imagine living in a place like that. It still surprises me how poorly Jamestown did in the beginning but managed to turn things around off tobacco. Overall, nice job done on this article Bryce.
26/01/2017
4:26 am
Marissa Gonzalez
It is understandable how Jamestown struggled as it was first beginning to develop. However, it is impressive how the use of tobacco was a factor in strengthening its community. It is unfortunate to read about the negative events in the early days of America such as the starvation of people. This makes one realize how far our society has grown and improved. Great job with this article!
26/01/2017
4:26 am
Mario Sosa
These early colonists had to be very fearless if they knew that ten to twenty of them would be killed off on a daily basis. Jamestown was a vital colony since its ability to survive and expand would attract more settlers. If Jamestown had turned out to be a failure, then no one would want to live in North America. A very interesting read, well done!
01/03/2017
4:26 am
Cameron Mays
This article is super cool because if you think about it, Jamestown is basically the root for everything in the US today, and so learning about it is essential to really understand what our country stands for. The idea of just moving to a new world and having all the responsibility that these people had is incredible. As for your article in particular, I wish you would have explained more, it just seems like you briefly covered everything, and had plently of room to write more. I wish you would’ve as this topic is awesome.
03/03/2017
4:26 am
Sam Vandenbrink
Great article although started out a little dark in the first paragraph. James town was a place filled with death illness and rebellion this article really focussed on the negative of James town. good article but just a little dark. John Smith was able to turn the colony around like no one else would have been able to do. Creating a civilisation out of nothing has to be one of the hardest trials people could be put through especially with the finding of new diseases.
01/09/2017
4:26 am
Mariana Sandoval
It’s interesting to see how poorly Jamestown was doing in the beginning and how it began to flourish in the end. It would have been interesting to note how maybe the Native Americans helped the settlers or any conflicts between the natives and the settlers.
28/11/2016
4:26 am