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I would like for you all to interact with the questions before our in class discussion, therefore, you will need to first answer the question that the person before you has asked (in paragraph form) and then you will write your question. Remember to do this as comment to this post. The first person to post his or her question obviously does not need to answer a question.
You will need to post your answer to the previous question and your new question by 7 am on the day of the discussion so that I have time to read through the questions and print them out for the discussion.
Would you personally want to join a colony in America after reading the two different accounts about the colonizations? Jamestown or Boston, and why?
ReplyDelete-Chandler Puig
Answer to Chandler's question: The two accounts given represent the colonies in America from almost opposite perspectives. From reading Sebastian Brandt's letter, I wouldn't want to join a colony in America. He talks about things like disease and death. Also, it seems the Jamestown colonists are constantly dependent on their company to send them basic necessities such as clothes and tools. However, based on John Winthrop's account of Boston, I would want to go to a colony. The Boston colony appears to have prospered economically and agriculturally, and Winthrop says that almost no one has died from disease. In addition, there seems to be a more organized government, and many newcomers that keep the colony stocked with tools and clothes.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Based on the concerns and topics that the two colonists talk about in their letters, what important factors do you think allowed the Jamestown and Boston colonies to deteriorate/prosper? How do the letters show that the colonies are doing well/deteriorating?
-Isabella Pestana
Answer to Isabella's question:
ReplyDeleteA major factor that allowed Jamestown to prosper and deteriorate was the introduction to the new crop, tobacco. This crop, introduced by John Rolfe, saved Jamestown. Also, the people there were able to work to earn money. Therefore, population increased and more people moved to Jamestown. A major factor that allowed Boston to prosper was the fact that they had a form of government which gave colonists autonomy. This helped Boston to become a center of residency because people wanted to move there. Boston was built to live according to Puritans religious viewpoints and values. The letters clearly state that both colonies are prospering and increasing in population.
Question:
What evidence did both colonists have that both colonies, Jamestown and Boston, were becoming self-sufficient? What main points led to this?
-Jenni Salas
Why would any natives want to accept new settlers.
ReplyDeleteAnthony Vernon
One of the main reasons that the natives would accept the new settlers is because of trade. The trades between the Native Americans and the settlers did not just only benefit the settlers. The Native Americans were able to acquire new resources from the other lands from which the settlers came from.
Delete-Brandon Lyn
If you were a colonist, what reasons would you go to America for. Would it be because of economic and political reasons? Or would it be because of religious reasons?
ReplyDelete-Brandon Lyn
Answer for Brandon Lyn:
ReplyDeleteI would have traveled to the Americas for religious reasons and political reasons. I say both because there was a large amount of political fighting as a result in religious disputes which then cause instability for the average citizen and what they are allowed to believe at the time. I would move so that I would not be persecuted then or in the future.
Question:
In the transcript, Brandt is ordering things that he needs and does not have. If you were preparing to go to the colonies, what would you bring with you and why?
George Butler
@Georgiepoo
ReplyDeleteIf I was to go to the colonies, I would most definitely be sure to bring matches, salted meats, warm furs, numerous amounts of clothes, games with which to entertain myself, medicines, pots and pans, kitchen utensils, blankets, small knives, an axe or two, blank paper and pens, trinkets to trade with the Natives, soap, pretty dresses to catch a man, extra cloth, a sewing kit, and a gun.
Question:
If you were in a situation where you could go to the Americas as a colonist, would you? Do you think living there would be worth the risk, and the trip? Defend your answer!!!!
-alex betancourt
xoxo ♡
I would not take the risk. It was not easy for a lot of colonists to adapt to life in the new world. Also I would not want to do all the mean things they did to the Indians in order to survive. I would also suffer with allergies trying to survive in the forest. I would make things work in Europe. I would not be willing to risk my life crossing the atlantic to go to a new place I know nothing about. In my opinion it is not worth the risk.
ReplyDeleteQuestion:
If you were Brandt would you have continued searching for precious metals like gold, silver, and copper? Or would you have made a transition to work in agriculture? Why or Why not?
Tomas Espinal
If I were Brandt, I would have stopped seeking for gold and other precious metals and transferred my efforts into working for agriculture. If I had found tons of gold such as Cortés did, I would have ruined my economy back home in Europe by causing inflation. I believe though that Jamestown was doomed from the beginning though, and even if all the gold seekers had stop and put all there efforts into agriculture that the town would have still failed because of all the disease and water poisoning that was going on. So if I were Brandt, yes I would transfer my efforts over to agriculture to help my society in the short run, although to no help to the society in the long run.
ReplyDeleteQuestion;
If you were Winthrop, would you have put the power into the church? (Remember that you are a Puritan and that it is your background to have the church in power). If so describe why the church should be in power.
Pablo Schwiep
If i was Winthrop i would have put the church in power for many reason. First and for most it would have been the background that i had grown up with. Secondly the church had to have been pure, since the whole reason that they came to america was to get rid of religious persecution. So i think that the people in carge of the church would have been solid Christians who would make righteous decisions. Lastly i think the new church in which they created in America would have been strongly founded on God and would be greatly blessed. For all these reasons i think that if i had been Winthrop i would have put the church in power.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: If you were Brandt would you leave America ASAP knowing you would be returning without your family or any gold? Or would you stay at Jamestown and try to survive? If so why?
James Barrios
Answer to James: I would have returned to England as soon as possible. From the looks of his letter, it seemed he missed the lavished lifestyle he sacrificed back home like clean clothes, silverware, food with flavor, and the sweet taste of sugar. His wife and brother did die, but the amount of deaths in Jamestown dulled his emotions.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Do you think John Winthrop's conclusive description of Boston persuaded Europeans to move there despite having the luxuries living in a metropolis?
Jarred Vanden Bosch
(to James)If I were Brandt I would stay put in America because of his illness. By the time he would have been able to do the whole process needed to return to England, he probably would have been dead already. His best bet is to stay put and try to make his fortune or at least a living in Jamestown.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: How did the do you think the death of a loved on affected the Colonists (specifically Jamestown) compared to how it would affect us today?
Anthony Villanueva
To Anthony: When the colonists first arrived and people initially began to die, I would say the colonists took the death of their loved ones just as bad as we do now. As time went on and more and more people died and death became a normal and reoccurring thing in society I believe the people changed as well. With more and more death the colonists began to cope with it better seeing that it happened all the time and it would be nothing to them like it seemed to Brandt in his letter.
DeleteQuestion: What would your reaction be as a colonist coming to America for the first time and seeing that everything you expected and were promised, was not there
Brian Alvarez
Answer to Anthony's question: The death of a loved one, particularly in Jamestown, would definitely crush the people's hearts. Although I believe that it would not be as difficult or heartbreaking as a death of a loved one would be nowadays, because in the Jamestown settlement, which was not thriving at all and was actually doing quite terrible. Many people were dying, so I believe that death would not be as much of a surprise or heartbreaking as you would expect because of the familiarity of the people with death.
ReplyDeleteAdrian Mayans
Question: How would you react and feel if you gave up everything and left your family back home to travel to America to start a wonderful new life and gain riches, and arrive to find a colony not thriving at all (like the Jamestown) and people dying?
To Brian: As a colonist coming to America for the first time and seeing that everything I expected and was promised was not there not only would I ve disappointed but also angry. I would be disappointed because of course there was no gold or silver. I would be angry because I have traveled such a long way and went through such harsh conditions to just be left empty handed.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Do you believe Brandt was nievy for still believing he could find precious metals in Jamestown, Virginia after all the horrible events that occured to him.
Tiffany Lopez
Minerals**
DeleteAnswer to Tiffany: Brandt wasn't necessarily naive since he had not much more to lose due to death's of his wife and brother. Brandt's last and final hope was for his dream of discovering precious metals like gold to come true so he wouldn't die knowing that the death of his family including himself was not all for nothing. Many people during the time period probably remained in Jamestown due to the large proximity in distance from England and the diseases in which they had contracted were most likely fatal or life-threatening.
DeleteQuestion: What do you think was the reason behind why he wanted his brother(alive one) to join him in Jamestown? Was it out of his pure obsession of obtaining gold?
-Shari
Answer to Tiffany Lopez's Question:
ReplyDeleteSurely Sebastian Brandt was delusional for believing he could discover non existent metals in Virginia. Shifting his primary focus from agriculture to wealth, Brandt was doomed to die. The hopeless search only weakened him, and never allowed him to fully recover from his previous illnesses.
-Alex Machado
New Question:
Besides the geography, what made the Massachusetts Bay Colony so different from the others? Why did it succeed far more than Jamestown or even in some aspects,
Pennsylvania? Explain.
To Tiffany:
ReplyDeleteNo, I do not think Brandt was naive. Brandt was simply trying to find another way to succeed in Jamestown, Virginia. Once he saw agriculture was not prospering he searched for precious metals. Finding precious metals would be an easy and fast source of income for Brandt and the colony.
Question: If you could go back in time to Jamestown in the 1600s, what would you do differently then the colonists did in order to make Jamestown a success and thrive?
Emily Brais
To Emily:
ReplyDeleteAlthough it would be diffucult, I would make sure the people are careful when interacting. Obviously the people were not up to date in the medical field, but still precautions can be made. I would make sure the people were careful with everything, because you could never be too careful with the unknown. For example, indians in this area attacked the colonists many times. I would make sure security was perfect before anything else. Two-thirds of the men who first arrived in Jamestown died. This would change if they were secure with the indians, careful with interactions, and clean with the water.
Question: If you were the head of a European company(like the London Company), would you invest in the New World or a colony like Jamestown or Boston? And if you would, what reasons do you have in investing? And if not, why wouldnt you?
Julian Infante
To Julian:
ReplyDeleteAs a head of a large company like that, i myself would invest in a colony such a Jamestown or Boston becuase there is so much potential for making money with the furs and trading and crops like tobacco. Also, after hearing a letter from Boston like Winthrops, i would have no doubt that the colony is on the up and up and would probably start to have a surplus. Surplus means money.
Question: After reading a letter such as Winthrops, and you were presented the opportunity of traveling to the New World as well and joining the colony or staying in Europe, which would you chose and why?
Ransom Reed
To Ransom: I would choose to travel to the new world and join the colony in Boston. The way Winthrop describes the colony makes it sound like a wonderful place to be with little disease and enough food to supply lots of people. Also, because of the good living conditions, a person from emigrating from England could make a new start and work his or her way out of the lower classes.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: What do you believe would have been a more efficient form of government for the Jamestown colony in 1622?
Sarah Kern