What challenges did the Jamestown colony face in its first year?

Answer 1

Jamestown began in the wrong place. They built their fort on the James River, but the land was swampy and in the summer months the water was bad. The area was also home to a Native American empire of 15,000. The Native Americans left them alone for the most part because they were in the worse track of land in the area. They knew with time that they would die from disease and they were right. Within 6 months 32 of the 107 men were alive and were starvIng. The men had come to look for gold and to make money for the investors who paid for the expedition. Crops were not planted so the men had no food after awhile. Also among the men was a Spanish spy ( the park service has found evidence of the spy). The only thing that saved Jamestown was the introduction of tobacco by John Rolfe.