This was followed by a cold spell in August and September. Because of this weather, corn and oats could not ripen, and wheat and rye completely failed, creating a smaller harvest than usual (29-32). Within months, the whole country was hungry. Prices had risen on what food was available. The King tried implementing several policies to increase the food supply, such as price controls on livestock and restrictions on the production of ales and other products made from the limited supply of grain.
The life of man in the 17th century was ‘nasty, brutish and short.’ I agree with this statement because the living and working conditions for the poor were terrible for most people in the 17th century. The food was poor and was very restricted due to the seasons and the price of it. People were undernourished due to lack of food that they needed, meat was expensive in the winter because they could not preserve it when it was fresh therefore it was salted so that it could last for the winter. Also, the poor relied on their harvests in the autumn for food to last them during the winter but if their crops failed many people starved therefore resulting in many undernourished people. Therefore, because people were so undernourished they had many diseases which became epidemics.
According to document D, there were only two small areas containing either food or supplies while the rest of the ship was filled with passengers. The amount of food stored on that ship wasn’t enough to feed the passengers to both last the ship ride and an unknown amount of time on land, till they found more nourishment there. Serious problems soon emerged in the small English outpost, which was located in the midst of a chiefdom of about 14,000 Algonquian-speaking Indians ruled by the powerful leader Powhatan. Relations with the Powhatan Indians were tenuous, although trading opportunities were established. An unfamiliar climate, as well as brackish water supply and lack of food, conditions possibly aggravated by a prolonged drought; led to disease and death.
These men were not the type to do hard labor works. Men in Jamestown didn’t produce any food and depended on the food supply they brought from England, which didn’t last long. Fortunately, colonists in Jamestown got food supply from the Native there, which helped Jamestown to survive the first winter. Moreover, colonists in Jamestown also suffered from diseases. Besides, another major problem encountered by the colonists there was polluted water.
That type of community could not possibly set up a foundation for a well organized, successful, educated, and fast - progressing society. The Puritans, who settled in New England ten years later, were creators of the stable system, based on their strong religious beliefs and prototype of Capitalist and Individualist society, which the United States based on, today. The Puritans settlement should be the main focus in the history books as the true beginning of the United States of America. One of the main reasons the Pilgrims story is a myth is that they did not come to America for religious freedom. They already had it in Holland, where they escaped from persecution in England.
They had deep knowledge of their land, source of water,and the seasonal cycle of plant food. However, the European settlement brought catastrophic impacts to them. Firstly, they were not able to assess the land and obtain the resources such as food, herbs, stones which were necessary to maintain their lifestyles and health status. In the tradition indigenous culture, most of the information were pass down from one generation to the next. Unfortunately, many of the elders were killed by those mortal diseases, thus a lot of valuable cultural information such as the usage of nature medicines were lost so more and more people have got sick.
The early Irish settlers in the United States emigrated from Ireland. Most people left Ireland for similar reasons. The largest amounts of Irish people were being forced out of their homeland due to the potato famine in the 1840’s. The idea of coming to America not only gave them hopes for a new beginning but for many was their own chance at survival. With failing crops and illness threatening the land families were unable to pay their rent and keep a roof over their head. Others were having their land taken from them because of the religious wars going on in the country and had no where else to go.
As the population increases so does the food supply shortages and demand for fuels to cook and provide heat. With little or no financial resources Africans in most of the tribal dominated regions resort to stripping their surroundings of any trees and vegetation for fire wood with little regard for the environmental consequences in order to survive. Land degradation from poor agricultural practices is a significant problem for Africa and desertification leaving many regions’ available land unproductive. Overgrazing by livestock has long been a long standing problem caused by Nomadic villagers. Due to the colonial introduction of borders by the European nations, many Nomadic tribes were trapped in their villages unable to continue to migrate, their herds repeatedly fed through the existing vegetation leaving stripped barren land.
Their tribe today is called the Northwest Coast Indian Tribe. The Navajo Indians who settled in southern Arizona and New Mexico then became the different Apache tribes. When they reached the Southwest, they began to learn a lot of things from the Pueblo Indians. They learned weaving, how to make clothing, and art. By the 1600s the Navajo had become capable of raising their own food, and making their own blankets, clothes etc.
Before 1834 there was no effective and inexpensive system in place to provide help the poor, throughout this time there were vast amounts of poverty with two out of ten families remaining below the ‘breadline’. However, illness, old age and accidents also prevented people from working; the poor would rely on other people or organisations in order to simply survive. There needed to be a change where poor relief could become readily available for people that needed it most. In the past the Elizabethan Poor Law 1601 would see Poor Law unions, guardians and Justices of the Peace appointed to each parish to offer ‘outdoor relief’ which would be provided from the poor rate, a tax on land and buildings; whilst the workhouses offered ‘indoor relief’ for those who were unable to help themselves. The Laws of Settlement 1622, however meant that the paupers should be given help from only their own parish; either through birth, marriage or work for a year and a day.