SETTLING NORTH AMERICA 1497 1732
THE SOUTHERN COLONIES SETTLEMENT AND GROWTH
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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The Algonquian Indians attacked and burned down much of the colony.
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The London Company closed the settlement because it wasn’t making a profit.
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A combination of famine, disease, and a harsh winter killed many in the colony.
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Infertile soil caused many settlers to seek better farmland in the middle colonies.
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Detailed explanation-1: -Why did the population of Jamestown plummet between 1609 and the spring of 1610? The Algonquian Indians attacked and burned down much of the colony.
Detailed explanation-2: -The winter of 1609-1610 in Jamestown is referred to as the “starving time.” Disease, violence, drought, a meager harvest followed by a harsh winter, and poor drinking water left the majority of colonists dead that winter.
Detailed explanation-3: -In 1609, the beginning of the First Anglo-Powhatan War (1609–1614) prompted the Indians to lay siege to the English fort, helping to provoke the famine. Settlers were forced to eat snakes, vipers, rats, mice, musk turtles, cats, dogs, horses, and perhaps even raptors.
Detailed explanation-4: -Famine, disease and conflict with local Native American tribes in the first two years brought Jamestown to the brink of failure before the arrival of a new group of settlers and supplies in 1610.
Detailed explanation-5: -In the “Starving Time” of 1609–1610, the Jamestown settlers faced rampant starvation for want of additional provisions. During this time, lack of food drove people to eat snakes and even boil the leather from shoes for sustenance. Only 60 of the original 214 settlers at Jamestown survived.