Question

handout 7b: samuel’s perspective of factors threatening jamestown
directions: for each negative social or environmental factor identified in the first column, explain samuel’s perspective about this factor and its threat to jamestown’s survival. leave the third column blank; you will complete this column for lesson 9.

negative factor impacting jamestown	samuel’s point of view	cartoon’s most obvious text conveys samuel’s perspective
social: the conflict between the commoners and the gentlemen
social: the conflict among the boys
environmental/social: a constant lack of food and supplies
environmental: disease and illness

Explanation:

This handout refers to Samuel Collier, a real historical figure who was a young servant in early Jamestown. Below is his perspective on each threat, grounded in the context of 17th-century Jamestown's struggles:

1. Conflict with the Powhatan: As a boy close to the settlers, Samuel would see the Powhatan as a constant, deadly threat—they attacked settlers, stole food, and made it impossible to safely farm or explore, putting everyone at risk of violence or starvation.
2. Conflict between commoners and gentlemen: Samuel would resent that the wealthy gentlemen refused to do manual labor (like farming or building) while commoners worked to keep the colony alive. This division meant less work got done, endangering everyone's survival.
3. Conflict among the boys: As a boy himself, Samuel would know that fighting among the boys wasted energy, led to petty injuries, and distracted from tasks like gathering food or helping the settlers, making the colony weaker overall.
4. Lack of food and supplies: Samuel would experience hunger firsthand. He'd see settlers go hungry, steal from each other, and grow too weak to work. Without food, people couldn't build shelters or defend themselves, so the colony could easily collapse.
5. Disease and illness: Samuel would watch settlers get sick and die from contaminated water, malnutrition, and unfamiliar illnesses. With so many people too sick to work or defend the colony, it felt like the sickness could wipe everyone out.

Answer:

Negative Factor Impacting Jamestown	Samuel's Point of View
Social: The conflict between the commoners and the gentlemen	The rich won’t work while we starve! They let us do all the hard work and still complain.
Social: The conflict among the boys	We should be helping, not fighting! We’re wasting energy we need to find food or help the men.
Environmental/Social: A constant lack of food and supplies	My stomach hurts all the time. People steal scraps, and we’re too weak to hunt or farm enough to survive.
Environmental: Disease and illness	Everyone’s getting sick and dying. The water makes us sick, and there’s no one left to fix our homes or protect us.