More than half of the original settlers died during the first winter.
The first settlers of Jamestown were all men. Most of them were gentlemen looking for gold. They hoped to get rich quick and then return to England. Few of the men were used to the hard rigors and work that it took to survive in the New World. They didn't know how to fish, hunt, or farm.
The local Native Americans were part of a large confederacy of tribes called the Powhatan.
It was in the summer of 1608 that Captain John Smith became the president of the colony.
The first order of business was to select a site to build a fort.
The winter after John Smith left (1609-1610) turned out to be the worst year in the history of the settlement. It is often called the "starving time" because only 60 of the 500 settlers living in Jamestown survived the winter.