The Arrival of the Europeans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

The Arrival of the Europeans - Essay Example They were a part of the Virginia Company of London (Morgan, 18). Much of the history of this time does not talk of the atrocities that were committed upon the people who were Native Americans. This points to the historical inaccuracies that are created by colonialism as an economic and political phenomenon. Jamestown experienced severe difficulties in setting up a local economy and for a very long time was dependent upon the economy of the mother country, that is, England. This was the case with many new colonies around this time. They were unable to find a firm footing in the new lands. This was attributed in many cases to the lack of labor in these new lands. The situation was different where the colonization was not accompanied by a genocide and labor could be had from the local populations. This was however, not the case with Jamestown. Edmund S. Morgan talks of the reasons as to why the English were unable to begin the production of food in the new colony. The composition of the population is touted as the major reason for this failure. The composition of the colonial population consisted of, to a large extent, the nobility of England. This meant that there was not enough labor available in the new colony, to work in the fields. This hampered the production of food to a great extent. Morgan attributes the failure of the production of food to the â€Å"poor organization† of the colonial enterprise and Jamestown in particular. This then resulted in alliances with the natives of America. In a short while, thus, the colonizers were dependent on the natives for a large part of their lives (19-21). One of the main reasons for the survival of the English settlement in Jamestown was the success of John Smith. John Smith was an experienced man and knew how to deal with the Indians and was also well versed in warfare. The cruel manner in which he dealt with the Indians was