Who were Jamestown first settlers?
The Jamestown men who arrived to set up the new colony were a mix of people. Some were military, others were gold seekers and thought they would make their wealth in the New World. Others were”jayle” birds and some were from rich families. The entire group really wasn’t ready to meet the needs of starting a colony. They didn’t plant crops, they picked a marshy site full of mosquitoes and bad water, and they would have rather looked for gold than work. The historians now know there was a Spanish spy in the group as well. The result of all of this was that in the first winter the colony almost failed because they weren’t ready and most of the men died. In 1609 the food situation was so bad they called it the “starving time” and were eating the leather on their shoes.
