Cannabalism in Jamestown - How Could One Have Starved in Early VA? (England, origin)
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I live in Virginia and for the life of me can't understand how one could possibly have had to resort to cannibalism when the woods were presumably loaded with game (as they are now) and the rivers and bays with fish and other seafood. Were the original settlers just inept at hunting and fishing?
Yes. They were totally unprepared for surviving in the wilderness . I also believe that the winter was a brutal one - much more severe then the weather patterns of today. Disease also took atoll on the settlers. If I remembermy history lesson, Jamestown was far from the ideal location to settle. It was was little more than a swamp, again different from what we see today.
Last edited by talloolla; 05-02-2013 at 04:47 AM..
The settlers were not prepared for their conditions. They did not arrive as farmers as their intent was to buy or trade from the Indians or get resupplied from England, meaning they had to rely on others for food. There was a severe drought at the time. Jamestown was also under seige by the Indians, so the settlers could not leave to go hunting and fishing. They were also physicallly weak, suffering from malnutrition, unsanitary conditions and various diseases.
Even if they did hunt, they were still strangers in a a strange land and would not have gone far from the fort, meaning that their local area would quickly be hunted out. Also, no one had rifles (weapons were smoothbores), which means that you had to get fairly close to your game and the majority of these guys would not have had the woodcraft skills to hunt effectively.
The settlers were not prepared for their conditions. They did not arrive as farmers as their intent was to buy or trade from the Indians or get resupplied from England, meaning they had to rely on others for food. There was a severe drought at the time. Jamestown was also under seige by the Indians, so the settlers could not leave to go hunting and fishing. They were also physicallly weak, suffering from malnutrition, unsanitary conditions and various diseases.
Even if they did hunt, they were still strangers in a a strange land and would not have gone far from the fort, meaning that their local area would quickly be hunted out. Also, no one had rifles (weapons were smoothbores), which means that you had to get fairly close to your game and the majority of these guys would not have had the woodcraft skills to hunt effectively.
The drought was in effect when they arrived and had been for some time, one of the longest and worse on record in the area. The natives had encountered their own problems from the conditions. And the settlers were largely gentlemen out for money and their servants. None were used to the conditions. After the death of the commander of the fort, the next was a commoner who required ALL to work. He made gentlemen go out and dig trenches. Eventually for this he was forced out and died. The new commander respected the privilages of class. One of their ongoing problems was that the servants were expected to do the work but ate far less well when they had food. It's probable that 'Jane' was one of them.
It was in the end ONLY the arrival of three ships full of new settlers and a large amonunt of supplies that prevented the settlement from being abandoned and lost, along with likely a chunk of history. The survivors only survived because of that.
Unlike later, many of the early settlements were not established by farmers but by businessmen hoping for a good return from trading. Many did not do well for this reason.
It's long been known that canabilism resulted from the starvation since it was recorded at the time, but this is the first actual evidence found. May 'Jane''s memory rest in some peace now.
Just seems strange since if I were starving I could probably feed myself on things within a reasonable walking distance of my back door. They had guns and the means to make fishing gear, including nets. A drought would make it easier in some ways because animals and fish would concentrate in smaller areas. Also, it's fairly flat down there so irrigation from ponds and rivers in lieu of rainfall would not have been particularly difficult.
Just seems strange since if I were starving I could probably feed myself on things within a reasonable walking distance of my back door. They had guns and the means to make fishing gear, including nets. A drought would make it easier in some ways because animals and fish would concentrate in smaller areas. Also, it's fairly flat down there so irrigation from ponds and rivers in lieu of rainfall would not have been particularly difficult.
First off, the food available in that area was very very limited. The drought had killed much of it off. Animals had left the area since springs had dried up and gone to where there was water. There wasn't just 'you' but a fort full of people on easily avaiable food for few people. they killed and ate their dogs and cats and horses and farm animals first. For one thing they couldn't feed them and for another they were starving themselves.
Without the ponds and rivers the animals would be further away and far more scarce.
Second, due to bad decisions, the fort was under siege by the local tribes. they had a fence around them. Slipping out in the bush wasn't really much of an option. And as people got weaker they got sick from things which they might not have been ill from, or much less. There comes a point where hopelessness becomes no holes barred survival. Thus, 'jane'.
There was a very good program which appeared on PBS on the weekend a few months ago called Moments in Time: Jamestown- Against all Odds which gives a very good picture of just how the ended up in this situation. It uses recreated scenes, but also draws from the sarme archeological evidence that this new discovery has. It should be somewhere on the PBS site.
Just seems strange since if I were starving I could probably feed myself on things within a reasonable walking distance of my back door. They had guns and the means to make fishing gear, including nets. A drought would make it easier in some ways because animals and fish would concentrate in smaller areas. Also, it's fairly flat down there so irrigation from ponds and rivers in lieu of rainfall would not have been particularly difficult.
What part of "the Indians had the settelement under seige" don't you understand? There was no, "I'll walk out the back door and find something to eat."
What part of "the Indians had the settelement under seige" don't you understand? There was no, "I'll walk out the back door and find something to eat."
There were periodic attacks but no siege. There's no evidence that the Indans were an impediment to their survival. The settlers clearly brought this on themselves.
These settlers were babes in the woods and did not even realize they were settling in an area already claimed by a local tribe who must have laughed at these odd people settling in a swampy place where no one in their right mind would. The settlers expected to carry on a semblance of the type of life they had in England, maybe even felt a little superior to the existing Indians, and probably did things that went against the area tribe's own sense of organization and tradition.
Where the Indians hunted by bow and arrow, traps, stealth and cunning, the settlers probably used guns to hunt and quickly scared off what ever game there was in the swamp. Also I am sure that many of the local critters, sea creatures, and plants that the locals have always ate were not appealing to the English. Had they ever even seen crabs and oysters?
Yes, cannabalism probably took place, as they continued to hold up in their swamp fortress, with no food, bad stagnant water, unfriendly locals, and no real way to get out...but it could have been different...
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