As we are recently learned in history class, Jamestown Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. Settled 13 years before the Pilgrims reached Plymouth Rock, Jamestown is known to many as heroic colony of survival and determination, its residents fighting against all odds to stand their ground and settle America for the generations to come. The residents underwent hardship after hardship, including attacks and sieges from the Indians, shortage of supplies and fresh water, and yearly plagues of disease that killed more than half the population in months.
The people of Jamestown ate horses, dogs, cats, and rats to combat their starvation. Had they not done so, the entire colony would have been wiped out, forcing new English settlers to start all over again upon their arrival. An Englishman gobbling down a boiled rat and a skinned dog certainly isn’t the most pleasant of thoughts, but a group of archaeologists has recently found proof that some were feasting on something much, much more vile -human flesh.
scratches in the jawbone
The remains of a 14-year-old girl were first discovered in a refuse dump last summer, along with horse and dog bones. Historians confirmed her to be an English settler of Jamestown, likely a daughter of a gentleman, after examining carbon and oxygen isotopes inside her bones. Her molars suggested her young age, and her cause of death is assumed to be disease, as she was cannibalized after her burial. Sharp cuts in her skeletal bones and skull were signs that her flesh and brains had been removed and eaten, likely during the winter of 1609.
The discovery of these bones only confirmed what many historians had believed for years, as cannibalism in Jamestown has been mentioned in more than five historical accounts of settlers. According to a letter written in 1625 by George Percy, president of Jamestown during the starvation period, the famine was so intense “thatt notheinge was Spared to mainteyne Lyfe and to doe those things which seame incredible, as to digge upp deade corpes outt of graves and to eate them.”
The skeletal remains discovered
Although the possibility of cannibalism was always there, it's fair to say that no one wanted to believe it. As Americans, we want to regard the founders of our country as determined heroes, not bloody mouthed flesh-eaters. What we must remember when hearing these new revelations is that desperate times call for desperate measures; and the Jamestown colonists were as desperate for food as one could ever be. When survival is a necessity human beings turn into animals. We will find food and nourishment in any way possible, no matter how unethical it may be. Dogs, horses, cats, rats, leather shoes, and finally, corpses.
a facial reconstruction of the 14-year old victim
This was a great piece. Well done. I really didn't know that the colonists did such bad things to stay alive. You seemed very knowledgeable about the subject and I learned a lot from this and it was not boring. Your title really caught my eye and I love your use of pictures which really help this posts message come across. You wrote very fluently and related back to class which was very well done.
ReplyDeleteThis is an extremely interesting post and you provided a lot of detail. I can tell that you spent a lot of time on this because there are no errors and the writing flows very well. Also, you did a great job really knowing what you were writing about and supporting your points with appropriate pictures. Even though it's not a happy topic, this post was fun to read.
ReplyDeleteYour post was amazing! It was extremely interesting to read, and I loved the detail you used. All of your pictures corresponded perfectly to what you were writing about. I liked how everything you wrote some how related back to history class, it helped me look at what we are learning in history in a new way. You did an amazing job!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great piece that really related to what we are learning in history! I had no idea that the Jamestown settlers cannibalized before reading your post. This really helped me to learn a lot more about Jamestown. I also really liked your pictures, they related perfectly to what you were talking about! This was very well-written and interesting to read, great job!!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I really liked how you picked a topic that we are doing in class as your blog post. I love learning about this stuff and your post helped me understand some of the stuff we are learning in class. Like Amelia said, all of your pictures corresponded with what you were writing about. I can tell that you spent a lot of time on this writing assignment by the detail that you put in it. Your writing was great, and it flowed very well. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI liked your post alot. You put the pictures in and the quote you used perfectly showed how even they knew how awful it was but still did it to survive. I think saying that we don't want to think of our founders as bloody mouth flesh eaters was a really good description. It was very clearly written with lots of evidence. Good job!
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I really liked how you had several pictures in your post that were very interesting. I learned in class about the poor food supply and the many droughts, but I never realized that the people of Jamestown were desperate enough to have eaten people. I found it sad to think of people being this hungry. I would have liked it if you included your sources so that I could see the articles about this topic.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog Jessica! I really liked your title because it was very creative and made me intrigued to read the blog. Before I read this, I knew that during the time of exploration, desperate times on some ships had caused members to eat things like leather and wood, but I had never heard of eating corpses and I was unaware that our early colonists were cannibals. However, as gruesome as it sounds, I think you said it perfectly that “when survival is a necessity human beings turn into animals”. It’s true that if humans need to survive and corpses can keep them alive, they have to do what they have to do. If they hadn’t eaten them, they might not have survived, and wouldn’t have been able to successfully colonize in Jamestown.
ReplyDeleteAmazing job! Your post was not only extremely well written and eloquent, but it was interesting too! I remember once hearing about this jamestown behavior and I was upset to hear it thinking that the cannibalism was wrong in every way. But seeing a new point of view, I now agree and realize that without it Jamestown would have not lived. Jamestown started the country we live in and without it we wouldn't be where we are today. If cannibalism kept them alive, in a way it kept us alive, and your post has opened up my eyes to this idea! Great ideas and amazing points! Your post was extremely fascinating and written with precision and care! Nice work.
ReplyDeleteAmazing post Jessica! I had never known that the colonists had to go to these extremes just to survive, and I think your post really captured that serious idea. I liked how you incorporated pictures in your post, it really helped set the reality of the early settlers. The post had nice ideas flowing through it and it was very easy to understand. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting topic to read about. I never would have expected the settlers of Jamestown to resort to eating human bodies. The pictures you included went along really well with the information and helped me get a better understanding. Good job!
ReplyDeleteGreat Job! I really enjoyed reading your blog! Ms. Gleason had mentioned this topic of cannibalism in class but had ever really gone into detail about it and I am glad that you could expand on it. I enjoyed your whole blog but one statement stood out to me. "What we must remember when hearing these new revelations is that desperate times call for desperate measures" This is a great statement because it is definitely something everyone should realize. The fact that the settlers resorted to eating corpses really shows just how desperate these people were. Over all great job!
ReplyDeletegreat writing piece! Your etiquette as a writer is phenomenal with no grammatical mistakes. I really learned alot, especially about how they could see how old the body was by there molars! Its kinda gross to think that they were cannibals! In all, Great job, very interesting topic!
ReplyDeleteGreat job Jessica! Your writing is full of detail and precision and it is easy to read. The pictures you chose fit your topic perfectly. It's great to learn more information about a morbid but interesting topic that we didn't go into a whole lot of detail in class. Once again, great job!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, this was very informative and easy to read. I had previously heard a theory of cannabalism at Roanoke Island, but I hadn't heard of it in Jamestown. I find it interesting to see just how hypocrytical people can be. Here were the colonists, going on about how savage the Native Americans were, when they themselves were cannibals. It's also interesting to see the advancement in science and knowledge. These days, we're told not to touch feathers on the ground in case they came from a diseased bird, because we know that touching dead, diseased things can help the spread of disease, but back then, they ate diseased corpses, which may have helped spread disease.
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