Jamestown
The Beginning Of Jamestown
Some people think that when the settlers of Jamestown arrived they were prepared, but they weren't.
Did you know that starvation was so bad that some had to eat pets, pests, and other settlers? When the settlers traversed the Atlantic they were glad to be alive. Many had to eat spoiled, salted food in cramped, unclean conditions and drink bilge water, the water that is at the bottom of the ship. When they arrived, many were insane from the trip.
They set up small shanties or lean-tos. Lean-tos are small homes that have two sticks supporting a roof and some have one side keeping you safe from wind and the other side would be exposed to the elements, which added to the miserable mood.
The only thought that kept them going was gold, which they never found. At one time, the colony was almost abandoned, but when they heard John Smith was coming, their moods seemed to perk up.
“If you don’t work you don’t eat,” said John Smith. While this may sound harsh, it was a good idea to remove or motivate any settlers not working.
In 1609, winter was settling in and the colony didn’t have any food. This was later called the “Starving Time”. The whole settlement almost died out. Sicknesses and disease was rampant, and measles was a deadly disease to the settlers, causing high temperatures and rashes.
Perspectives
Settlers Indians
The settlers thought all Indians The Indians would ambush
were savages so they would build settlers because they were on
walls to protect them and their land and even stole the
shoot to scare them away. settlers’ needed supplies.
Starting To Settle In:
Challenges and Successes
The Starving Time grew the knowledge of the settlers and taught them many skills, but many historians think it didn’t.
While the “Starving Time” killed many, it taught the settlers that they shouldn’t just look for gold, but prevent another Starving Time.
They started farming, but were always carrying guns to protect themselves from the Indians. They also started a government system and attempted to make livable homes for citizens, but the only thing they never learned was to befriend the Indians for a long time.
When Pocahontas died, the chief at the time resigned and another chief came to power. He started raids against the settlers.
Later the Indians started a massacre hoping to scare the settlers away. One Indian boy warned the settlers so that they could defend the town. About 300 settlers died during this massacre.
The settlers reacted with quick counter attacks, raiding villages and killing their inhabitants. When the Indian threat was gone, tobacco was farmed there since there was no gold.
They created their own gold which was the tobacco. The Jamestown settlers quickly got addicted and sold it to Europeans who also got addicted. Jamestown made lots of money off of tobacco and soon the farms were employed with slaves from Africa.
With this money many settlers built huge homes and had acres of land, while some gave money to the government to improve the town. They later expanded outside the fort, and made a settlement called the City of Henrico which became the main town. Later it was lost in time, but is now the name of a county with many major cities in the state of Virginia.
Changing From Jamestown to Williamsburg
Some people think Jamestown disappeared, but it didn’t. Jamestown was very important; in fact it was the most politically important colony by far in the New World.
The first major thing that happened was Bacon's Rebellion which was a major riot that had started due to Governor Berkeley banning trade with the Indians. Many merchants were angry with the governor. Nathaniel Bacon got other angry merchants to join him. He later got elected to the house of Burgesses. In the middle of a debate, he left and came back with his rioters. They surrounded the courthouse. When Berkeley came out, he told Bacon to shoot him. He said, “Here, shoot me before God, fair mark shot.” Bacon didn’t shoot him. Later, Bacon captured Jamestown, and made strict changes to the government. Berkeley soon infiltrated the colony and got his rule back. Bacon burned the statehouse, 2 storehouses, and 17 homes. Later, 37 of his men were hung, but before he was hung he got sick and died.
This led to the government making a new, fancier colony named Williamsburg.
How to Form a Successful Colony
Don’t be greedy because it will lead to starvation, rebellion and being overworked.
Also planting successful crops will lead to getting enough food so you won't starve during the winter like Jamestown did in 1609. Always make sure you're healthy and sort of hygienic.
No comments:
Post a Comment