What Are The Effects Of Farming In Jamestown

At the beginning of the 17th century, England colonized an area of land on the Chesapeake River that was called Jamestown. Jamestown was founded by the Virginia Company in 1607 and within nine months a large portion of the original settlers had died. The conditions were hard as many people did not know how to farm and so food was scarce. According to a letter written by Richard Frethorne, an indentured servant at Jamestown, there was much sickness such as “the scurvy and the bloody flux and diverse other diseases” that plagued the settlers (19). This was caused by the location of a swamp by Jamestown and a warmer climate. There was very little food available and what food was available was unfulfilling and dispersed amongst a large group so people like Richard Frethorne would write home begging for food (19-20). …show more content…
The cause of the lack of food stem from the settlers’ inability to farm and the lack of a desire to do so. This piece really highlights the poor conditions Jamestown settlers suffered from at the beginning of its foundation. They only had men and most of these men were gentleman or artisans who did not know how to farm. Many of these men came over looking for precious metals and adventure rather than coming over to farm plots of land. This became known as a “starving time” despite the bountiful land the settlers had settled on. Another issue the piece highlights is the fact the settlers settled in an area with powerful Native American tribes who were led by