What Caused the Failure of the Jamestown Colony in 1610?
Document D: Reprinted from Travels and Works of Captain John Smith, President of Virginia, and Admiral of New England, 1610. (Primary Source) [Original version] What by their crueltie, our Governours indiscretion, and the losse of our ships, of five hundred within six moneths after Captain Smiths departure (October 1609-March 1610), there remained not past sixtie, men, women and children. This was the time, which still to this day (1624) we call this the starving time; if it were too vile to say, and scarce to be believed, what we endured; but the occasion our owne, for want of providence industrie and government, and not the barrennesse and defect of the Countrie, as is generously supposed;” [Modern Version] Six months after Captain Smith left, the cruelty of the [Powhatans], the stupidity of our leaders, and the loss of our ships [when they sailed away] caused 440 of the 500 people in Jamestown to die … We still call this time the “Starving Time.” What we suffered was too terrible
