James Horn's A Land As God Made It

James Horn’s, “A Land As God Made It”, tells about the hardships and tragedies the settlers faced as they attempted to make a settlement in Jamestown. Before attempting to settle at Jamestown, England tried to permanently settle in Roanoke, off the coast of North Carolina. The colony was “unsuitable because its shallow waters could not accommodate ocean-going vessels” (Horn 2005, 31). Horn says that the failure of the Roanoke colony occurred for many different reasons; one of the main reasons being that it was not a time for success for the colony. Although the colony failed, it gave impact on the future for settlers to start a new settlement (Horn 2005, 33). Horn says that the reason for Jamestown being explored is unclear and that only a

In March 1617, Pocahontas got sick (possibly tuberculosis or pneumonia) and died. The mission of the New World was to convert Indians to Christianity, but the plan failed. Opechancanough soon launched an attack on the colony killing men, women, children, etc.; they were killed in their houses, yards, gardens, and around the plantation (Horn 2005, 255). Because of Opechancanough’s attack, the colony faced another starvation period. Many of the English died, due to lack of a food supply. The Company went bankrupt, Native Americans continued to send threats, and the colonists lived in misery. The Company’s charter was revoked, and the Company reached its final demise. James Horn theory is very evident throughout the book: Jamestown’s failure was inevitable. Horn listed many details in which he backed up with his ideas, concepts, and even conversations in the text as to why he believed this theory. Although some of Horn’s arguments do not reconcile with information that I know of Jamestown, I believed this book to be thorough and vivid in his arguments. This book helped me to understand better of how Jamestown came along, and all the events to follow for the