jamestown dbq thesis

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Presentation U.S. History Primary Source Timeline

Virginia's early relations with native americans.

Those living in the area where Jamestown was settled must have had mixed feelings about the arrival of the English in 1607. One of their first reactions was hostility based on their previous experience with Spanish explorers along their coastline. They attacked one of the ships before the English actually landed. Yet they soon began to offer food and hospitality to the newcomers. At first, Powhatan, leader of a confederation of tribes around the Chesapeake Bay, hoped to absorb the newcomers through hospitality and his offerings of food. As the colonists searched for instant wealth, they neglected planting corn and other work necessary to make their colony self-sufficient. They therefore grew more and more dependent on the indigenous people for food.

As the colony's fortunes deteriorated during its first two years, Captain John Smith's leadership saved the colony. Part of this leadership involved exploring the area and establishing trade with local people. Unfortunately for the Native Americans, Smith believed that the English should treat them as the Spanish had: to compel them to "drudgery, work, and slavery," so English colonists could live "like Soldiers upon the fruit of their labor." Thus, when his negotiations for food occasionally failed, Smith took what he wanted by force.

By 1609, Powhatan realized that the English intended to stay. Moreover, he was disappointed that the English did not return his hospitality nor would they marry Native American women. He knew that the English "invade my people, possess my country." Native Americans thus began attacking settlers, killing their livestock, and burning such crops as they planted. All the while, Powhatan claimed he simply could not control the young men who were committing these acts without his knowledge or permission. Keep in mind, however, that Powhatan's reactions and statements were reported by John Smith, hardly an unbiased observer.

In the next decade, the colonists conducted search and destroy raids on Native American settlements. They burned villages and corn crops (ironic, in that the English were often starving). Both sides committed atrocities against the other. Powhatan was finally forced into a truce of sorts. Colonists captured Powhatan's favorite daughter, Pocahontas, who soon married John Rolfe. Their marriage did help relations between Native Americans and colonists.

With the reorganization of the colony under Sir Edwin Sandys, liberal land policies led to dispersion of English settlements along the James River. Increasing cultivation of tobacco required more land (since tobacco wore out the soil in three or four years) and clearing forest areas to make land fit for planting. Expanding English settlements meant more encroachment on Native American lands and somewhat greater contact with Native Americans. It also left settlers more vulnerable to attack. By this time, the Native American fully realized what continued English presence in Virginia meant--more plantations, the felling of more forests, the killing of more game--in sum, a greater threat to their way of life. The self-proclaimed humanitarian efforts of people like George Thorpe--who sought to convert Indian children to Christianity through education--did not help either. Finally, the deaths of Powhatan and Pocahontas further hastened hostilities.

The Native Americans, led by Powhatan's brother Opechancanough, bided their time. Pretending friendship, they were waiting for an opportunity to strike the English and dislodge them from Virginia. In early 1622, they struck. In all, nearly 350 colonists were killed; Jamestown itself was saved only by the warning of an Native American Christian convert. One result was an ever-hardening English attitude toward the Native American. Another was bloody reprisals against local tribes.

• John Smith Appointed to Manage "All Things Abroad," 1607
• Governor Edward-Maria Wingfield's Report, 1607
• John Smith's Narrative of His Captivity
• Captain Newport Visits Powhatan, 1607
• John Smith Attempts to Suppress the Indians Around Jamestown, 1608
• The "Coronation" of Powhatan, 1608
• John Smith and Powhatan Exchange Views, 1608
• The Virginia Company's Instructions to Sir Thomas Gates Concerning the Natives, May 1609
• William Simmons, Doctor of Divinity, 1610
• A True Declaration of the State of the Colony of Virginia, 1610
• Converting Indians to Christianity Justifies English Colonization, 1610
• Powhatan's Daughter, Pocahontas, Taken Prisoner, 1612
• Pocahontas Marries John Rolfe, 1613
• John Rolfe Reports to Edwin Sandys Concerning Indians, 1619
• George Thorpe and John Pory to Sir Edwin Sandys, May 15, 1621
• A Relation of the Barbarous Massacre, 1622
• How the Massacre Was Good for the Plantation, 1622
• A Proposal for Subjugating the Indians, 

Home — Essay Samples — History — Jamestown — Why Did So Many Colonists Die in Early Jamestown

Why Did so Many Colonists Die in Early Jamestown

• Categories: Jamestown

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Published: Sep 16, 2023

Words: 814 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Table of contents

Inadequate preparation and planning, hostile relationships with native tribes, environmental challenges and diseases.

• Doherty, Kieran. “Jamestown Colony: A Political, Social, and Cultural History.” ABC-CLIO, 2007.
• Horn, James. “A Land as God Made It: Jamestown and the Birth of America.” Basic Books, 2005.
• Kelso, William M. “Jamestown, the Buried Truth.” University of Virginia Press, 2006.
• Price, David A. “Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith , Pocahontas, and the Heart of a New Nation.” Vintage Books, 2003.

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AP World History: Sample DBQ Thesis Statements

Using the following documents, analyze how the Ottoman government viewed ethnic and religious groups within its empire for the period 1876–1908. Identify an additional document and explain how it would help you analyze the views of the Ottoman Empire.

Crafting a Solid Thesis Statement

Kaplan Pro Tip Your thesis can be in the first or last paragraph of your essay, but it cannot be split between the two. Many times, your original thesis is too simple to gain the point. A good idea is to write a concluding paragraph that might extend your original thesis. Think of a way to restate your thesis, adding information from your analysis of the documents.

Thesis Statements that Do NOT Work

There were many ways in which the Ottoman government viewed ethnic and religious groups.

The next statement paraphrases the historical background and does not address the question. It would not receive credit for being a thesis.

The Ottoman government brought reforms in the Constitution of 1876. The empire had a number of different groups of people living in it, including Christians and Muslims who did not practice the official form of Islam. By 1908 a new government was created by the Young Turks and the sultan was soon out of his job.

This next sentence gets the question backward: you are being asked for the government’s view of religious and ethnic groups, not the groups’ view of the government. Though the point-of-view issue is very important, this statement would not receive POV credit.

People of different nationalities reacted differently to the Ottoman government depending on their religion.

The following paragraph says a great deal about history, but it does not address the substance of the question. It would not receive credit because of its irrelevancy.

Throughout history, people around the world have struggled with the issue of political power and freedom. From the harbor of Boston during the first stages of the American Revolution to the plantations of Haiti during the struggle to end slavery, people have battled for power. Even in places like China with the Boxer Rebellion, people were responding against the issue of Westernization. Imperialism made the demand for change even more important, as European powers circled the globe and stretched their influences to the far reaches of the known world. In the Ottoman Empire too, people demanded change.

Thesis Statements that DO Work

Now we turn to thesis statements that do work. These two sentences address both the religious and ethnic aspects of the question. They describe how these groups were viewed.

The Ottoman government took the same position on religious diversity as it did on ethnic diversity. Minorities were servants of the Ottoman Turks, and religious diversity was allowed as long as Islam remained supreme.

This statement answers the question in a different way but is equally successful.

Government officials in the Ottoman Empire sent out the message that all people in the empire were equal regardless of religion or ethnicity, yet the reality was that the Turks and their version of Islam were superior.

Going Beyond the Basic Requirements

• have a highly sophisticated thesis
• show deep analysis of the documents
• use documents persuasively in broad conceptual ways
• analyze point of view thoughtfully and consistently
• identify multiple additional documents with sophisticated explanations of their usefulness
• bring in relevant outside information beyond the historical background provided

Final Notes on How to Write the DBQ

• Take notes in the margins during the reading period relating to the background of the speaker and his/her possible point of view.
• Assume that each document provides only a snapshot of the topic—just one perspective.
• Look for connections between documents for grouping.
• In the documents booklet, mark off documents that you use so that you do not forget to mention them.
• As you are writing, refer to the authorship of the documents, not just the document numbers.
• Mention additional documents and the reasons why they would help further analyze the question.
• Mark off each part of the instructions for the essay as you accomplish them.
• Use visual and graphic information in documents that are not text-based.

Don’t

• Repeat information from the historical background in your essay.
• Assume that the documents are universally valid rather than presenting a single perspective.
• Spend too much time on the DBQ rather than moving on to the other essay.
• Write the first paragraph before you have a clear idea of what your thesis will be.
• Ignore part of the question.
• Structure the essay with just one paragraph.
• Underline or highlight the thesis. (This may be done as an exercise for class, but it looks juvenile on the exam.)

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