James Town settlement
HIST 1301
February 4, 2014
Jamestown Settlement
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. Established by the Virginia company of London as “James Fort” in 1607 and considered permanent after brief abandonment in 1610 (Wikipedia). Despite having several early fail attempts, Jamestown survived and became the capital of the colony. The question is how did Jamestown survived despite becoming a place of misery and death?
Why did Jamestown have struggle with life? The first joint-stock company to launch a venture to The New World was the Virginia Company of London with only one thought in their mind that they could found gold in the new land. In 1607, English men were sent to the new land, established the Jamestown colony and started looking for gold vainly.
As a consequence, the colonist did not spend time on farming and food supplies are dwindled which lead to the death of almost gold finders in the first 2 years.
In the early age, Jamestown suffered from many hardships such as famine, diseases, and attacks of Indian; however, the leadership of Captain John Smith helped the colony from dissolving. He controlled the colony with a strict discipline on the colonist “work or starve” and he made sure that everyone worked as a team. So John Smith was important in the survival of Jamestown by keeping it “alive”.
The introduction of tobacco revived the colony and sealed its survival: Tobacco seeds were given to the colony by John Rolfe and this made Jamestown a successful colony.
It is clear to see that the first settlement to the New World needed a leader and a specific plan for moving to the new land. Death wouldn’t have been occurred if they had been better prepared and study about the area before decided to settle in. Moreover, lack of cultivating skills was also one of the most important reasons for the failure of the first settlement in the early age.
February 4, 2014
Jamestown Settlement
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. Established by the Virginia company of London as “James Fort” in 1607 and considered permanent after brief abandonment in 1610 (Wikipedia). Despite having several early fail attempts, Jamestown survived and became the capital of the colony. The question is how did Jamestown survived despite becoming a place of misery and death?
Why did Jamestown have struggle with life? The first joint-stock company to launch a venture to The New World was the Virginia Company of London with only one thought in their mind that they could found gold in the new land. In 1607, English men were sent to the new land, established the Jamestown colony and started looking for gold vainly.
As a consequence, the colonist did not spend time on farming and food supplies are dwindled which lead to the death of almost gold finders in the first 2 years.
In the early age, Jamestown suffered from many hardships such as famine, diseases, and attacks of Indian; however, the leadership of Captain John Smith helped the colony from dissolving. He controlled the colony with a strict discipline on the colonist “work or starve” and he made sure that everyone worked as a team. So John Smith was important in the survival of Jamestown by keeping it “alive”.
The introduction of tobacco revived the colony and sealed its survival: Tobacco seeds were given to the colony by John Rolfe and this made Jamestown a successful colony.
It is clear to see that the first settlement to the New World needed a leader and a specific plan for moving to the new land. Death wouldn’t have been occurred if they had been better prepared and study about the area before decided to settle in. Moreover, lack of cultivating skills was also one of the most important reasons for the failure of the first settlement in the early age.