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Colonialism, as told in Kupperman’s Jamestown Project and Brooks` Ecological Perspectives, has always been difficult. In Jamestown, Virginia, England made its first settlement on the James River named after King James. It was small and served as a tiny village with its own economy and government. It was successful in England marking its newfound territory for colonialism. However, it did not come easy at all because it was well within native territory. Natives, like the Algonquians, did not welcome them and often fought the settlers to gain back their territory. That is until relationships were established with the natives in trading and making materials like copper. As described by Kupperman, the main banknote of Jamestown in the early 1600’s was tobacco and African Slaves were brought over to toil over this cash crop (Kupperman, 1).” This reminded me of Chapter 5 in The Atlantic World by Egerton et al. with the labor regimes and the slave trade for work.
As it has always been, a settlement can only be as successful if the resources can offer sustenance to the settlers. For instance, Mande-speaking populations in Africa “often exploited the Nile River because they lived in Sub-Saharan Africa (Brooks, 26).” In addition, rainfall also dictated where natives live because when you live in a dry climate, water supply is paramount for your survival. Brooks also mentions “the improvement in livable climates actually increased trade between tribes (Brooks, 33).” They were successful because they used the rivers for trade and transport, kind of like the natives in Lipman’s Murder on the Saltwater Frontier. So you can see, competition with natives can unsettle a population but can also unite them through relationships and trade networks if all goes well. All in all, trade, relationships and resources determine the success of colonies, big and small.
Brooks, George. “Ecological Perspectives on Mande Population Movements, Commercial Networks, and Settlement Patterns from the Atlantic Wet Phase (Ca. 5500-2500 B.C.) to the Present” History of Africa. 16, (1989), pp. 23-40.
Kupperman, Karen Ordahl. Jamestown Project. Harvard University Press: Feb. 2009