Was Jamestown A Success Or Failure Essay

After disease, famine, and Native attacks, Jamestown was on the verge of destruction; few people had survived the poorly planned expedition, but the rapid growth of ideas and tobacco would have the dwindling population soon flourishing. Perhaps of the greater mistakes made, was the chosen location of Jamestown; the nearby bay was a prime location for mosquitoes and malaria alike. In addition to the cold, the nearby natives and densely forested terrain would make agricultural and expansion for the colonists difficult. The expedition was driven by greed; basic survival was overlooked with an eye kept on nothing but gold. Growing food was a low priority, which led to famine. If the primary goal of the expedition was reached, finding gold, Jamestown would have been a likely successful colony as trade and profit would be present. But even with the collapse of the principal task, the focus on wealth remained while food was scarce. “… the colonists spent much of their limited and dwindling energy on futile searches for gold” (Brinkley). While it wasn’t gold that led to the success of the Jamestown colony, an unexpected product would. Despite the constant …show more content…
It had wealth from the newly introduced cash crop, tobacco, but it did not have much of a population. The Virginia Company, who had funded the exposition, was still in debt. “Even the discovery of tobacco cultivation was not enough to help the Virginia Company. By 1616, there were still no profits, only land and debts” (Brinkley). In a final hope to attract settlers, and make the colony profitable, the company produced what headright system, which was an incentive that awarded a large amount of land to new settlers, especially families. In Jamestown, 50 acres of land was given to every new settler, a small family could easily acquire hundreds of acres of land, which was not easily obtainable in

Show More

Related Documents: Was Jamestown A Success Or Failure Essay

The Introduction Of Tobacco In Jamestown, Virginia