Category: Jamestown

During john smith’s voyages, there were multiple conflicts between many people the voyagers and the Indians, and the voyagers among themselves. are the conflicts the foundation of America’s colonization? what he includes as well as his diction informs us about the conflicts between the English and the natives as well as superior officers and their men establishing the foundational conflicts of our country’s birth.

The conflicts started with john smith and he already made decisions about the Indians the passage starts out with him calling them “salvages”. Before he even got to meet them he was already saying that they would steal things from him in the passage he writes when God the patron of all good indevours, in that desperate extremitie so changed the hearts of the Salvages, that they brought such plenty of their fruits, and provision, as no man wanted. Also, he is just always very sure that they will do the worst thing always assumed it he says “expecting as it happened that the Salvages would assault them, as not long after they did with a most hydeous noyse” he was expecting them to act barbaric and not with any class like they all had he was being very racist. also in the writing, he often looks down on their culture and traditions they do which is not really what someone who cares of doesn’t wanna judge people would do. In the writings he says “which done, three more such like devils came rushing in with the like antique tricks, painted half black, half red: but all their eyes were painted white, and some red strokes like Mutchato’s, along their cheeks: round about him those fiends danced a pretty while, and then came in three more as ugly as the rest” in context he is asked to join in on their cultural worship and religious culture and is making fun of how they look.

His behavor could be the reason that led to the other conflict to capture and murder of other english men that where there for exploration the inidna would capture the people then they took them all and kill them all exect john they too him ad brought him to there leader. They held him captive and i don’t believe they were going to let him go until Pocahontas saved him”Pocahontas the Kings dearest daughter, when no entreaty could prevail, got his head in her arms, and laid her owne upon his to save him from death: whereat the Emperour was contented he should liue to make him hatchets, and her bells, beads, and copper; for they thought him as well of all occupations as themselves” in this passage it shows even the littlest thing she saves his life and that even though there was a conflict that it can be resolved and things can get worked out.

In an article by the national park service, they said “Originally, the colony was governed by a council of seven men, and Captain Smith had been named by the Virginia Company to serve on this council. Ironically, he was arrested for mutiny on the voyage to Virginia, narrowly escaping being hanged, and arrived at Jamestown as a prisoner. Fortunately, through the efforts of Jamestown’s minister, Reverend Robert Hunt, he was allowed to assume his council position.” this shows even trying to run the town with a civilized government was hard.

The first months of Jamestown were very difficult due to food shortages, unhealthy drinking water, disease, and unproductive council leadership because of fighting. Becaus eof the low foos supply smith went to the Powhatan villages securing food. On one expidiont inpaticular he was captured along with many others but was the only to survive by a large Powhatan hunting party and and takne on a long jounry to many Powhatan villages, he ended up being taken to Chief Powhatan.

This encounter resulted in Smith’s famous story of being rescued from death by Pocahontas, the wife of Chief Powhatan. He was Then escorted back to Fort James. By that time, there were still just 38 of the 104 colonists left. In January 1608, many settlers arrived in Jamestown, and Chief Powhatan sent some supplies to the British, but tragedy struck with the accidental burning of most of the fort in early January. The extreme cold that winter, together with the lack of shelter and food from the flames, resulted in more deaths

One event that struck the city of Jamestown included the event of starvation. The starvation happened due to many food shortages and sieges by surrounding tribes. The surrounding tribes that the people of Jamestown has previously traded with started to retaliate from the strain for they were also experiencing a food shortage (Historic Jamestowne 2019). Starvation can play a major role in the downfall of a town. Having an adequate food supply allows the people of the community to be healthy which in turn helps them fight off disease from their immune systems being sustained by nutrition and also outside forces such as invades or animals since the state of physical stature correlated to how much adequate and balanced food the person is taking in. Food intake for a population contributes a lot how much the community can flourish. For a town to have any hope of prosperity, it must have people to carry it through time, and with Jamestown this was not the case. at the point when the Jamestown pilgrims initially entered the New World in 1607, they didn’t have a clue what’s in store, and they absolutely weren’t set up for the new infections that joined the settlement. Truly, how might they have been? This strange domain was seething with sicknesses for which none of them had been dealt with and had no real way to ensure their wellbeing. In his works, Captain John Smith makes reference to that a considerable lot of the pioneers were asking to leave, and numerous previously attempted. He anticipated their takeoff three distinct occasions, however for what reason would he need to keep on causing them to experience the ill effects of the illnesses assaulting and murdering them?

Not exclusively were the pioneers’ resistant frameworks not set up for these new afflictions, however the nourishment they were eating wasn’t healthfully adequate. The President that controlled the vast majority of Jamestown kept the better nourishment for himself and his nearby colleagues. Things like lack of healthy sustenance naturally increment the danger of affliction. The ‘Destitute Time’ didn’t help around there either. Taking a gander at the lack of healthy sustenance alone, doubtlessly the pilgrims were kicking the bucket just from starvation; in any case, that certainly wasn’t the situation.

A few history specialists accept that it could’ve been intestinal sickness that slaughtered such huge numbers of the pilgrims. They had never been acquainted with it, and they had no precaution gauges that could be taken. ‘Malady likewise devastated the state. Jamestown pioneers were leveled by New World infections for which they had no opposition. Jungle fever, specifically, demonstrated a feared executioner, and ailing health brought down the resistance of the pioneers.’ (Schweikart and Allen, A Patriot’s History, 17.)

The side effects of intestinal sickness can incorporate fever, sweats, chills, migraines, weariness, queasiness, and regurgitating. The side effects don’t generally show up on the double and will in general come in force cycles. Percy from ‘Perceptions’ stated, ‘Our men were obliterated with cruell maladies as Swellings, Flixes, Burning Fevers, and by warres, and some withdrew all of a sudden, however generally they kicked the bucket of meere starvation.’ He accepted that the individuals of Jamestown were biting the dust from an absence of nourishment. Somewhat, I accept they were, however with such huge numbers of new ailments, their bodies were kicking the bucket for a larger number of reasons than that.

The medicines for sicknesses, for example, jungle fever, weren’t progressed around then. www.rpharms.com depicts the medicines for intestinal sickness during the 1600s. A considerable lot of the neighborhood specialists advised tainted individuals to wash their legs in hot milk or to drink ‘carduus posset.’ obviously, a large number of the cures were old spouses stories, including one by Leonard Sowerby. ‘An insect wounded in a material, spread upon linnen and applied to the fore-head or Temples’ was his suggestion.

The demand for sugar and tobacco fueled the growth of new colonies in Brazil, Jamestown, Maryland and the Caribbean Islands. The new colonies diminished Spain’s power in the New World and created a new pressure on native life. In 1606 all lands stretching from present-day North Carolina to southern New York was granted to the Virginia Company by King James I. They named this land Virginia to honor Elizabeth I. The first people to arrive were a group of all men, no women, farmers or ministers. The group of men were expected to extract tributes from the natives and collect valuable commodities, such as pearls or gold. The men did not find any gold and did poorly in the new land. After four months, the men arrived in Virginia and found a swampy peninsula, which they named Jamestown. Jamestown lacked access to fresh water, the men didn’t plant crops and nine months later only 38 of the 120 men were still alive. Many of the men were killed by diseases and famine. The local Indian tribe’s chief called Powhatan was willing to treat the English as allies. He expected tribute from the English in exchange for goods. Powhatan provided the English with corn and in return he asked for hatchets, bells, beads, copper and two guns. The chief expected the colony to become a dependent community within his chiefdom. He arranged a marriage between his daughter Pocahontas and an English colonist named John Rolfe. Though they tried to form a symbiotic relationship, the inability to decide who would pay tribute to who led to many years of uneasiness and eventually led to a long period of warfare. The war was started by the discovery of Tobacco. Tobacco was used for medicine and as a stimulant by the Indians. John Rolfe found a strain that flourished in Virginia. Tobacco was sold for a high price in England and soon the English craved the nicotine that was in the tobacco. To assist the flow of migrants to Jamestown, the Virginia Company allowed settlers to own land and the company created a system of government called the House of Burgesses. The stream of migrants entering Virginia created a conflict with their Indian neighbors. Powhatans’ successor Opechancanough first attacked English settlers and stood aloof to them. He became chief in 1621 and in 1622 he planned a surprise attack that killed nearly one-third of the English population. The English retaliated by seizing the fields and food, they declared a perpetual war without peace that lasted a decade. Appalled by the native’s uprising, James I made Virginia a royal colony, meaning that the king and his ministers appointed governors and councils. The House of Burgesses remained but the King’s Privy council had to ratify all legislation. Residents of Jamestown also now had to pay taxes and support its clergy. Jamestown became a model example for new colonies throughout English America despite its hard beginnings and conflicts with its neighboring Indians.

In the Inca and Aztec Empires, Spanish colonizers capitalized on preexisting systems of tribute to tap into the major wealth of Mesoamerica and the Andes. Once the Spanish gained power from the native rulers they moved their municipal councils, their legal code and the Catholic church to the Americas. Conquistadors began to collect tribute in labor and goods from the natives. Spanish men controlled a wide amount of resources and were able to monopolize Indian labor. When mines were developed Spanis officials co-opted the Mita system. The Mita system allowed the Indian workers to be forced into working in the mines. Some of the native peoples began to move into the countryside, while others stayed in their communities, living under the authority of native leaders. Although Spanish priests suppressed religious ceremonies and texts and they converted Indians to Christianity. The demand of sugar and tobacco fueled the growth of plantation colonies in Brazil, Jamestown, Maryland and the Caribbean Islands. In Brazil, Portuguese colonists hoped that the natives would provide labor for their sugar plantations however the colonists brought with them the disease called smallpox. Smallpox wiped out most of the native population and Africans were forced to do the labor instead. In Jamestown, the local chief was willing to see the English as allies, in exchange for his corn he asked for hatchets, bells, beads and copper. The native leader expected Jamestown to become a dependent community in his chiefdom, but the inability to decide who paid tribute to who eventually led to war. During the war the natives were killed and sold into slavery. Unlike in the plantation or tribute colonies, in some neo-European colonies, the colonies traded with the local Indians. In New France, many priests lived in Indian communities and learned to understand and respect their values. In New Dutch, though they at first traded with the Indians but they did not respect them very much. The colonizers stole land and took over the native people’s trading network. Similar to the other groups, the Five Nations of Iroquois had suffered from diseases and warfare. Though the plantation, tribute and neo-European colonies were spread out in different areas of America they had many similarities. In all types of colonies diseases like smallpox would kill off many of the native population. In neo-colonization and plantations despite efforts of peace and trade, the war eventually broke out. Though in New France the natives and the colonizers learned from each other and avoided conflict. In all the types, tributes, plantations, and neo-European colonies Indians would be pushed out of their homes. In both tribute and plantations, the natives would be forced to work. Overall the experiences of Indians during this time period were mostly harsh and problematic.

A decade after Protestants arrived in Plymouth a much larger group arrived in Massachusetts Bay. The people came with family and created communities. Their main goal was to establish their communities off of Protestant principles. Massachusetts Bay became a society of independent farm families. Back in England, the country was being plunged into a religious uproar. Engish puritans accused the King of holding catholic beliefs. Puritans are Protestants who hoped to purify the Church of England of its ceremony and hierarchy. Puritans fled to America but in 1630 the Puritan Exodus began. John Winthrop was the leader of 900 migrants to seek land and a place in Christian history for the people. Winthrope believed England was morally corrupt and hoped to inspire religious reform throughout Christians. Winthrop became governor of Massachusetts Bay and changed the joint-stock corporation into a representative political system. The state-supported religion was Puritanism and they used the bible as a legal guide. Roger Williams rejected the idea to have an official religion in Massachusetts Bay, he would rather Massachusetts Bay have a separation of church and state. The magistrates threw him out of the colony for his dissidence. Williams and his followers founded the town of Providence. More dissidents settled in nearby towns and in 1644 the settlers obtained a charter for a new colony called Rhode Island. Unlike is Massachusetts Bay, in Rhode Island there was no official religion and the people could worship God as they pleased. More Puritans moved out of Massachusetts Bay and settled near the Connecticut River. In 1660 New Haven, Saybrook and Connecticut got a charter for Connecticut to become a self-governing colony. Like Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut elected its governors and had an established church but unlike Massachusetts Bay, it granted voting rights to property-owning men not just church members. The religious differences and the diverse views on England created tension between people living in the same communities, causing people with different ideas to move into a place filled with people sharing the same views.

The Columbian Exchange was a broad intercontinental of plants, animals, or diseases. The crops like corn or potatoes that were found in America helped enrich the diets of Europeans, Africans and Asians. The foods increased the population and agriculture in other continents. Europeans brought animals such as cattle, horses and chickens. Though the Columbian Exchange helped distribute beneficial goods it also helped spread diseases. Smallpox, Malaria and yellow fever were some of the diseases that almost killed all the native people of the Western Hemisphere. The diseases killed many Indians and made it easier for Europeans to eventually take over the land.

Foods found in the western hemisphere significantly increased agricultural yields and the growth of the population of a place. In 1700 due to the Columbian Exchange maize and potatoes reached China. After this the Chinese population tripled. The population grew from 100 million to 300 million.

An entire colony in North America has mysteriously gone missing. Scientists and researchers cannot seem to discover the exact reason that the colonists suddenly disappeared, yet many intriguing and detailed theories have been presented. Many of them contain scientific evidence, but there’s not enough to prove if it’s right or wrong. Some theories, however, are simply just guesses based on the cultures and traditions of the neighboring Native American tribes. The Roanoke Colony was established in August of 1587, and then abandoned by 1590, leaving behind the mystery of the 116 missing colonists. The Governor of the colony, John White, decided to sail back to England that year in order to get more supplies for the colony. When he got back, there was a war going on between England and Spain and John White was unable to get a ship back to Roanoke. He eventually made it back to the colony in 1590. When he got there, it was completely vacant, leaving only the word Croatoan carved into a fence post. Although there are many theories as to what happened to the missing colonists, not all of them have enough evidence to really prove any theory to be true. The most likely cause of the disappearance is a drought that forced them out, much like the drought that was encountered by the Jamestown colonists. The other theories include the colonists absorbing into the Native Tribes, murder, cannablism, and disease.

The most plausible theory is that the colonists experienced a drought that forced them to move out of Roanoke Island. Archeologists studied the Cypress trees around the location of the colony and saw that the colonists experienced a rather large drought. This natural disaster could have forced the colonists to relocate in an effort to find a source of water, explaining why they took their belongings with them. This theory provides actual evidence of the drought, much like the one experienced by the colonists in Jamestown, Virginia. The Jamestown colonists wrote about famine and contaminated water. During the drought, the crops would have failed, leaving them with little food and unable to trade with the various neighboring Native Tribes.

One of the most popular theories is that the colonists were absorbed into the Native Tribes and stayed with the Natives for food and shelter. Francis Nelson, a settler of Jamestown, drew the Zuniga Map, which documents that four men from Roanoke were living with the Iroquois Tribe. The Roanoke settlers could have joined the Croatoan Natives,but their relationship wasn’t always very positive, and there is not much evidence to really know for sure. The colonists could have had a smooth transition and simply joined the Natives for help in the New World, or, their reason for transitioning could have been a rather harsh and cruel one. They could have been captured and taken in as slaves and used by the Natives. This theory makes sense and is easy to understand, however, there is no hard evidence that shows that this is exactly what happened. More evidence would need to be found by historians in order for this theory to really work. With today’s technology, DNA testing is a good resource to find out if the colonists did in fact blend into the tribe, but so far there is no DNA evidence to support this theory.

A rather dark theory that is a possibility is that the colonists of Roanoke were murdered. John Smith attempted to solve the mystery of the missing colonists in 1607 and claimed that Chief Powhatan told him that he killed the colonists. Powhatan is thought to have done this as a way of getting revenge because the colonists were living with a tribe that refused to become allies with him. It is said that Powhatan showed Smith a musket barrel, and a brass mortar and pestle. This story is greatly disputed by many historians because of the lack of hard evidence. There were no bodies left that could support the theory, leaving a rather large hole in the thought process.

The third theory that historians debate about is cannibalism. This theory has two major ideas within it. The first idea is that the colonists themselves were forced to resort to cannibalism, due to the harsh conditions that arose in the colony and it was the only method of survival. The second idea is that the colonists ended up being the victims of cannibals from outside of the colony. Many Native Tribes weren’t fond of having outsiders near their land so it is a possibility that they were in fact cannibals and turned on the colonists. Although no bodies were found, the Natives could have taken the bones and used them for healing remedies or simply disposed of the bodies themselves. However there is no real evidence that shows the Natives were cannibalists.

Another popular theory is that the colonists came in contact with disease. They were in a new territory and had not yet built up their immunity to the various bacteria and viruses that could be found in the area. As a result, they could have easily caught a type of plague or deadly virus that eventually killed them off. Another perspective to take on the disease theory is that the healthy colonists wouldn’t want to come in contact with the sick colonists so they could protect themselves. If this did happen, violence could erupt, causing major conflict between the colony. The healthy settlers could have killed off the unhealthy for self defense. The only problem with this perspective is that it doesn’t explain what happened to the colonists who stayed healthy, making the first perspective sound more accurate. Not much evidence supports this theory since there were no bodies found and no evidence of the colonists livelihood, meaning that they most likely picked up their belongings and moved out. If diseases did kill them off, they most likely would have left remnants of their lives behind. Also, Europe was much more developed than the Americas, causing it to have more complex germs. This means that it would have been much more likely for the Natives to have caught diseases from the colonists, instead of the colonists catching diseases from the Natives.

The theory with the most scientific evidence is that the Roanoke colonists experienced a severe drought, forcing them to move to a location that has more water access. The other theories that are presented make sense, but don’t have the evidence to back them up. There’s no bodies that were left behind and no proof of cannibalism and specific diseases. It makes sense that the colonists joined the Native Tribes due to the carving of the word Croatoan, but there’s not enough hard evidence to back that theory up. The Natives in the area have their own beliefs on what could have happened based on their spiritual beliefs. The Croatoans believe that the Roanoke Island has a spirit that turns humans into nature if it was angered. Some Coratoans believe that the colonists could have made the spirit mad by abusing the land, so it turned them into trees or stones. They also believe in an evil spirit that could have caused the colonists to turn on each other, resulting in violence throughout the colony.Many theories about the Roanoke colonists disappearance exist, it is impossible to know for sure what happened with the amount of evidence we have today, but an educated guess can be made based on the recent findings about the major drought that occured.