Jamestown Census
Point: If you were traveling to a far-off, wild place, what kinds of people would you bring with you? What kinds of tasks would you want someone to know how to do? What skills do you think would be important?" To answer the questions below, refer to the information at Census of Jamestown Settlers
Questions to Answer in a One-Page Essay:
Which jobs do you think were the most important? Why?
Are there any jobs not mentioned in the census that you think the Jamestown settlers should have included? What other kinds of duties do you think would be important for a new settlement? Who did the cooking and cleaning? (This was women's work in the early 17th century. But, there were no women at all at Jamestown in the first year and few came afterwards. The distribution of these "women's tasks" caused much internal conflict and disruption, because many settlers were unwilling to perform these tasks. Historians believe that this was a direct cause of the colony's failure.)
The Jamestown settlement had a lot of problems. John Smith, who at one point became leader of the colony, once threatened that if you didn't work, you didn't eat. Look at your bar graphs. Why do you think John Smith made this threat? Based on what you just learned about these different roles, who do you think wasn't working his share? Why?
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