Dbq Early Jamestown

Jamestown was not the most successful settlement in the beginning years of 1607-1612. The first settlers unfortunately failed miserably in creating a successful permanent settlement right from the start. The early colonists that arrived at Jamestown around 1607 did not survive mainly because of exposure to disease, conflict with the natives, and lack of clean/any water. Exposure to unknown diseases was certainly a major factor that led to the early colonists dying. According to Dennis B. Blanton from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, “Disease in early years to Jamestown’s position at the salt-fresh water transition, where filth introduced into the river tended to fester rather than flush away,” (Document A). If this water, filled with filth and bacteria, was used for daily chores such as …show more content…
The colonists did not have much clean water to irrigate crops or stay hydrated which consequently resulted in more deaths. As stated in document A, brackish water was not classified as useful, clean water and “freshwater is scarce,” therefore water was not a plentiful resource. Without freshwater, the colonists were forced to use the brackish water that was left and this caused dehydration because of the salt water mix. Document B’s graph explains how in the beginning years at Jamestown the colonists went through a prolonged drought period, thus the rain, their only source of clean water, was scarce and extremely limited. Lack of water meant no way to irrigate crops for food which resulted in starvation. By looking at the data in document C, it states the colonists were not using the water resourcefully as they did not bring any farmers or even fishermen to Jamestown. Fishermen would have been very useful to help them not starve to death. Without fishermen or farmers, it's clear that the colonists were not expecting clean and accessible water to live off of eating fish or the same crops every