The settlers quickly hunted and killed off all the large and smaller game that was to be found on the tiny peninsula. The low, marshy area was infested with malaria-carrying mosquitoes and other airborne pests. The only source of water for the area was not a good source of drinking water for more reasons than one; mainly because of the high content of salt and the bugs that were infested within it. The settlers who came over on the initial three ships were not well-equipped for the life they found in Jamestown. There were a little over one hundred men to come over that helped establish Jamestown.
All these problems caused the “starving time” in the period of 1609-1610 in Jamestown with extremely high death rate. The number of settlers in Jamestown dropped from 500 in fall of 1609 to 60 in spring of 1610. Besides, at this time, the Native refused to help men in Jamestown
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.
Therefore, because people were so undernourished they had many diseases which became epidemics. Many people weren’t having enough vitamin c therefore resulting in them having scurvy, other diseases became epidemics; influenza, small pox and syphilis due to poor living conditions. Also, due to poor conditions the infant mortality rate was high and many children did not make it to their fifteenth birthday while life expectancy for adults was mid-thirties. Poor people died so young because their living conditions were terrible. They lived in their own filth and waste because there were no sewers or drainage to take it away, even when they threw it out of the house it would drain into the nearby rivers.
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.
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. Many of the original colonists were upper-class Englishmen, and the colony lacked
The Mayflower Voyage The group that set out from Plymouth, in southwestern England, in September 1620 included 35 members of a radical Puritan faction known as the English Separatist Church. In 1607, after illegally breaking from the Church of England, the Separatists settled in the Netherlands, first in Amsterdam and later in the town of Leiden, where they remained for the next decade under the relatively lenient Dutch laws. Due to economic difficulties, as well as fears that they would lose their English language and heritage, they began to make plans to settle in the New World. Their intended destination was a region near the Hudson River, which at the time was thought to be part of the already established colony of Virginia. In 1620, the would-be settlers joined a London stock company that would finance their trip aboard the Mayflower, a three-masted merchant ship, in 1620.
The first couple of months in Jamestown were difficult. There was disease, starvation and frequent Indian attacks. Many people also died from the harsh weather and lack of food and water. In 1607 some local Indians captured John Smith and many other colonists. All of the colonists were killed and John Smith was taken to see Chief Powhatan.
Medical knowledge was helpless in the face of pandemics like the mid-third-century plague, and Roman families could no longer populate the empire." (Sherman & Salisbury, 153) Perhaps the greatest factor that led to the population decline was the lack of offspring. " The future of Rome...depended on offspring to carry on the family and other cultural traditions. Yet throughout the empire, had a particularly hard time reproducing. (Sherman & Salisbury, 149) Lack of knowledge on children's and woman's healthcare resulted in a low birthrate. "
1. An example of the chain of events that leads to a "natural" famine (not the direct result of war or civil strife) is a poor harvest due to a drought the drought caused failed crops (the plants and animals died or did not grow well because there wasn't enough water) which means there's not enough food for people to buy. 2. The price of food therefore goes up and the poor people can't afford it so they are starving but as things get worse there's not even enough food for the rich people to buy.The famine is basically the result of a natural disaster (the drought) 3. War and civil strife are two of the greatest causes of famine.