high death rate of its settlers
They build in a swamp with high disease rates, which raised the Death Rate.
There were many problems at Jamestown. The colonists were unaccustomed to manual labor. The water supply was very high in saline content. There was a high rate of disease and death, and relations with the natives turned bad quickly.
The death rate in a country can be high or low. there is your sentence.
Low
Demographic transition
No, it is actually the opposite. A high birth rate and a low death rate leads to increased populations.
They were not used to the area's climate or its natural resources.
It is a lie. They haven't a rate like that.
because it has such a high death rate - HIV/ AIDS as well as relatively high child mortality rate
Virginia source: http://www.chacha.com/question/which-colony-had-the-highest-death-rate-in-it's-early-years
Prior to the regular use of antibiotics to treat RMSF, the death rate was about 25%. Although the death rate from RMSF has improved greatly with an understanding of the importance of early use of antibiotics, there is still a 5% death rate.