Jamestown Survives

By the end of the first three years, almost all the early Jamestown settlers are dead from disease or starvation. It's a testament to the tenacity of the survivors that they don't just pack up, and head back to England. 

Actually, they try. With death all around, and the stockade in disrepair, the survivors finally abandon Jamestown. But they quickly return, after sighting the long-awaited re-supply fleet arriving from London.

Luckily, before investor confidence entirely collapses, the first crop of a tobacco plant grown from special Spanish seeds is shipped back to London. It's an immediate success, and the colony's future is assured.

 
Jamestown early days

  Tobacco Miracle
The first settlers at Jamestown arrive with high hopes, and the backing of top-tier business sponsors in London (top left). But the young colony is beset with problems, and struggles to repay its investors. When prospects are at their lowest, colonists discover that a special tobacco thrives in Virginia. It proves an instant success in English smoking clubs, and Jamestown thrives.

Jamestown unhealthy site, 1609

  Unhealthy Site
Things are looking pretty good going into summer, but there's a reason the Indians have never settled this particular location, even though Indian villages are scattered almost everywhere else along the rivers and inlets. The problem is the lack of a reliable source of healthy drinking water. The land itself is swampy and mosquito-infested, and the groundwater near the fort is partially contaminated with salt from the river, which is tidal. This helps explain the persistent health problems of early settlers.


Jamestown and tobacco, 1610

  Tobacco-based Prosperity
The surging price for Virginia tobacco in London is due to the extremely limited supply, and Jamestown flourishes. With money pouring in, settlers expand their settlement, planting tobacco with determined energy. Everyone is growing as much tobacco as they possibly can. Soon, instead of exporting 2,000 pounds of tobacco a year, Jamestown is exporting a million pounds. Predictably, this floods the market, driving the price down by a heart-stopping 95%. The price never really recovers.