Why Did So Many Colonists Died In Jamestown

Imagine going to a new place, not having any idea of what’s gonna happen and how long you will live. Colonists in Jamestown had that reality. English settlers were colonizing America, in Jamestown, Virginia. This happened in the 1600s. Settlers didn’t know any better so they chose Jamestown. Settlers faced many struggles, i.e. lack of food, water, and skill. Why did so many colonists die? The three main reasons colonists died was environmental issues, lack of settler skills, and relations with the Powhatans.
The biggest reason colonists died was because of settler skills. Most people that went to America were gentleman or didn’t have an occupation (Smith). This evidence shows that a lot of people did not have any skills to do anything. “English colonists dug shallow wells to supply themselves with sources of water” (Blanton). Colonists didn’t have the skills or knowledge to make or find clean water. This relates to environmental issues because if settlers had more skills they would know how to use the resources the environment gives them to their advantage.

“ Disease in the early years to Jamestown position at the salt freshwater transition, where filth introduced into the river tended to fester rather them flush away” (Blanton). Settlers didn 't know about bacteria in dirty water so they drank it unknowingly and many got diseases. In the early 1600s there was a drought (Science ). This source comes from science magazine. The purpose of this source is to inform and it contains no bias, it has reliable information that proves that the colonists died because of environmental issues. This relates to relations with the Powhatans because the Powhatans knew how to survive there, the could have helped the settlers but they chose not