People's+Experiences

Jamestown
In 1607, Jamestown (named after King James I) was founded. The reason for the colonists' voyage was to gain large amounts of gold. Because most of their time was spent searching, minimal time was spent farming and growing crops and there was barely any food for the colonists. The weather during the winter was excruciatingly cold and Malaria killed many. After the first year of these trials, only 38 of the original 144 still remained. Leader John Smith's motto was "Work or Starve." He required every person to farm four hours every day. After John Smith was forced to go back to England due to a major burn, Jamestown suffered even more. Disease and hunger swept through the colony and some people turned to cannibalism. Per every six colonists that came to Jamestown, only one survived. The number one killer of the colonist was malaria, and lack of food led to lowered immune systems. Jamestown unfortunately was located on marshy ground where malaria-carrying mosquitoes were prevalent. Not much was know about malaria at that time. To treat patients they would do bloodletting. They would usually use leeches to suck the impure blood out. This method would not always work because occasionally they would let too much blood flow out and the patient would die. This was one of the main reasons for the failure in Jamestown. Sources

. "Britain in the New World." US History. Hall Association in Philadelphia, 2012. Web. 10 Feb 2012. [] "Death in Jamestown." //Patriots and Peoples//. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. <@http://historynotebook.blogspot.com/2008/02/death-in-jamestown.html>. Forner, Tammy. "About Medicine and Health in Colonial Times | EHow.com." //EHow | How to Videos, Articles & More - Discover the Expert in You. | EHow.com//. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. <@http://www.ehow.com/about_4567424_medicine-health-colonial-times.html> @http://mrhousch.com/imgs/lessons/jamestown/jamestown049.png

Plymouth
Plymouth was founded in 1620, by people who called themselves separatist. Their reason for coming to the new world was so they would have somewhere to freely exercise their religion.

Not all life in the Plymouth colony was as you might imagined it to be. Many pictures we see today of the separatist show them only in black and white. The truth is they only wore black and white on Sundays or special occasions. Their clothes were usually made out of wool or linen and were earth toned colored such as blues, greens, browns, and other darker colors. We always pictured men with white collared shirts and belts and little boys in pants and a shirt. Really this is not how it was. Men didn't usually wear belts or white collared shirts, and all children under the ages of eight, even boys, wore long dress-like garments.

While men were still considered the head of the household women had a little more importance in Plymouth. Because there was so much work to be done men graciously accepted help from women. Sometimes even widows were looked upon for help and advice. As I mentioned earlier their religion was very important to the separatist. The Sabbath, Sunday, was an especially important day. Every week possible they went to church, and it was mandatory that children learn the Scriptures and have a basic knowledge of them. Once home from church they would have a dinner that consisted of baked beans that the wife started preparing the night before. During dinner the children were not permitted to speak or to get up until the were given permission. Parents required much from their children. This is why school was such a priority. This is one of the reasons that Plymouth was a successful colony, their high education and living standards and hard work ethics.

Source Page, Michael //Daily Life in Plymouth Colony//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb 2012. [].

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