what were the three hardships the settlers faced in jamestown

The
original English settlers of Jamestown faced many hardships and struggles. The biggest three
were internal divisions, disease, and lack of food.

Starvation was one of the
first hurdles that these settlers had to surmount. As bad luck would have it, when the settlers
arrived in 1607, the region was experiencing a severe drought. Furthermore, they had arrived too
late in the year to plant. Many were also unaccustomed to the hard labor that farming in this
region required. As a result, there was little food to feed them and many starved to death. The
situation was so dire that there are reports that some of the settlers had to resort to
cannibalism to make it through this "starving time."

Being located
in a swampy estuary, Jamestown was in a prime location for the spread of disease. First of all,
all this sitting water was a great habitat for mosquitos to breed in. Mosquito-borne illnesses
such as malaria took many lives. The lack of reliable sources of potable water also meant that
the settlers drank contaminated water which made them even sicker. All this disease compounded
the earlier mentioned problem of lack of food because many were too sick to farm. By the end of
1610, about eighty percent of the original settlers were dead.

This high
mortality rate naturally led to high levels of internal strife. Although John Smith painted an
optimistic picture of the situation in order to woo investors in England, he was not universally
loved as one of the colony's leaders. Many saw him as self-serving and reckless in his forrays
into the interior. Even before the initial voyage had reached North America, Smith was accused
of mutiny and nearly executed. Many still distrusted his intentions after arrival. To make
matters worse, Smith's policy of giving food preference only to those who could work during the
"starving times" increased resentment towards him. If he had not returned to England
after being injured in an accidental gunpowder explosion, there may have been a rebellion
against him.

It should also be mentioned that, although they initially helped
them, the Powhatan tribe were sometimes very hostile towards the English settlers. Between 1610
and 1614 there were several direct and violent conflicts between these groups that led to the
death of many English settlers and kept them from expanding their exploration much beyond
Jamestown.

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