Jamestown Effect on Native Americans in the Area

Jamestown Settlement

The study of American history has had a range of phases and transitions that have seen the country and its continent develop to its current state. These developmental phases range from the history of its natives, reconstruction era and to the modernity and current-world diversity. This context, however, looks upon the history of native culture that existed in the Columbus period. With reference to Galloway and Mann, a vivid pictorial vision is eluded on how the American Indians, the Native Americans, were juxtaposed between their way of life and invasion of European settlers in Jamestown, Virginia. The latter was among the first colonies to be established by the settlers, and so did the impacts of colonization to the town's natives.

Historical Background

According to Mann 2007, a group venture consisting of European Settlers was formed in the Columbus Period. The members arrived at Jamestown under the Virginia Company. Later diversifying into a colonization venture, John Rolfe showcased his colonialist side. He discovered that the region was conducive for the growth of commercial tobacco. This was not received in great awe by the natives since John introduced a new species of tobacco that was not conversant to them. John later pushed the limits by exporting his harvest in Europe, which turned over the trade perception of the natives.

However, the settlers settled on unfriendly land. Under the conditions, diseases and famine affected them gravely. This later attributed to the death of around 104 settlers. The situations dwelled on until John Smith arrogated the town's leadership. Lack of diplomacy, prejudice and other unjust administrative deeds allowed the foreigners to have control of the best opportunities available in Jamestown, leaving the natives defenseless over the superior colonialists. Such instances greatly affected the natives and the conflicting situations of culture and socio-economic practices changed as time progressed along the Atlantic seaboard.

Calloway has written his editions of the American history of the natives in a way in which the readers can derive a common comprehension towards the events and happenings that progressed in the Chesapeake Bay region. The immediate lesson is from the implications brought about by the colonialists. The implications hit both the physical and human environments of the natives. In addition, the implications have continuously progressed with time leaning on to posterity whereby the nature and structure of modern America was attributed.

Moreover, the natives of the then Virginia colony had a conception of a sign that could eventually emerge and have intense implication to them. The sign was also inclusive to the inter-cultural conflict brought about by the colonialists. Arrival of new people was an assurance that things in the future to come were not pleasant. To curb intimidation from the new comers, Mann, shows how the Native Indians took control for the better period they could by overruling the best and fertile land that they had already acquired (Mann 2007).

This Columbus and post-Columbus period mainly highlighted repercussion towards the physic-human environment. According to Calloway's reading, there was a region that was unfriendly to human environment. In their quest of laying their colonial foundation, the settlers had to dwell on a region infested with animals and insects not fit for human interaction. In the same page, the first colonel of Jamestown, Rolfe introduced new species of plants and animals that dependently changed the balance that Jamestown's ecosystem once had (Calloway 54). The percussions of the environmental imbalance paved way for more prone diseases that were never experienced by the Native Indians.