Populations attempting to establish colonies have run into various similar difficulties throughout time and across the world. Karen Kupperman’s introduction to the Jamestown Project discusses the common narratives surrounding the establishment, and the intricacies that are often overlooked when analyzing history of the space. George Brooks’ work focuses on similar environmental and social circumstances Mande-speaking people faced, thousands years prior to British settlers, as they migrated East across Africa. The Mande speaking people thrived as they either adapted or followed favorable weather conditions east toward the Nile. Kupperman references, \u201cA time of environmental crisis,\u201d during the establishment of Jamestown in 1607, \u201cthat made establishing thriving settlements even more difficult than it should have been.\u201d (Kupperman 9)
\nA difference in the two groups was how they were funded, and their solutions to poor economic conditions. British colonies were investments dependent on the Crown whereas Mande-speaking people were commanded by a desire to survive. The British colony was in competition with other European empires while Mande-speakers were forced to integrate with other populations on the continent who differed linguistically. Integration of outside groups were important to both the colonists in Jamestown and the expanding Mandekan population. Mande-speaking people were able to master essential crafts such as leather and iron work and covered large expanses of land on horseback, forcing encountered groups to adopt dominant foreign customs. Jamestown colonists initially integrated to a native Chesapeake Algonquin population by marrying into a prominent family. Neither Mande-speakers nor British colonists were content with sufficiency. Both populations would eventually take advantage of groups of people in hopes of expanding their territories.
\nMatthew Liivoja was right when he wrote that a colony can only be successful \u201cif the resources can offer sustenance the settlers.\u201d British colonists and travelling Mande-speakers relied on sustainable agriculture with success depending on climate conditions. They both also depended on interactions with indigenous populations when necessary, and exploitation of others when conditions were dire. Colonists relied on slave labor for the cultivation of tobacco, and in Africa, \u201cthose constrained by circumstances to use Mandekan dialects.\u201d (Brooks 33) This included, according to Brooks, a large number of captives, \u201ctaken in war or purchased by Mandekan speakers.\u201d (Brooks 33) A virtuous colony seems like a paradox, but it is important to note the varying conditions afflicting the individuals attempting to establish foreign residence. Like Russian nesting dolls, colonies and empires are only dominant until a more advanced population has the means to absorb or marginalize them into obscurity. Colonists and early migrants depended on ingenuity, resiliency, and resources to further their existence and development.<\/p>\n
Brooks, George. \u201cEcological Perspectives on Mande Population Movements, Commercial Networks, and Settlement Patterns from the Atlantic Wet Phase (Ca. 5500-2500 B.C.) to the Present\u201d History of Africa. 16, (1989), pp. 23-40.<\/p>\n
Kupperman, Karen Ordahl. Jamestown Project. Harvard University Press: Feb. 2009<\/p>\n