One of the factors was that they settled near a body of water that connected to a saltwater ocean (hook exercise). Because of this, the tides made the freshwater in James River mix with saltwater, and therefore making it unable to be used for growing agriculture in Jamestown. (Doc A) Not only that, but Jamestown exerted feces and other wastes into the river, but it “tendered to fester rather than flush away.” By the tides. Although fish were present, near the stream that surrounded the Jamestown settlers, they would only arrive there every spring and summer. The times that edible marine life wasn’t there was also when agriculture, or food in general, was scarce. (Doc A) Another reason on why so many colonists died was the fact that they arrived at the bay during one of the area’s longest period of unbroken period of drought which lasted from 1607 – 1613 and therefore resulted in scarce wildlife for the animals did not habit habitats currently ridden with drought, nor was it good for the agriculture. Overall, there were many factors of the harsh and natural environment that surrounded the Jamestown settlement, which made it almost a fatal place to habit, and an easy target for the depletion of essential resources and …show more content…
One of the most prominent things to acknowledge is that England had shipped so many gentlemen, or people of wealth that have little experience when working with their hands. With the first supply, they had brought forty – seven gentlemen which outnumbered any known occupation. Instead of bringing so many gentlemen, they could’ve distributed the people into more vital occupations - like a surgeon, farmer, or gunsmith – that would come more in handy in the New World. These occupations could’ve included at least one apothecary or a druggist in the 1st supply to help with the disease that killed so many people in 1607. Gunsmiths could’ve been useful too in fighting the small battle between the settlers and the savage Native Americans and more laborers could’ve been necessary as well in order to build a settlement on a whole other continent. Occupations like barber, coopers, and especially the excess amount in gentlemen in the 1st supply, as well as jewelers and perfumers in the 2nd resupply can all be easily considered as unnecessary jobs. These ship lists also presents itself as an implicit piece of information that the British may have been overconfident in growing the settlement. They may have not considered the factors of meeting new people and the dangers of new places, which explains why they had no gunsmiths