Question

According to john smith's account in the general history of virginia…, what finally kept the jamestown colony from starvation and self-destruction?

Answer 1

Jamestown, Virginia, experienced the terrible starving time in the 1609 until next year, running out of food and becoming ridden with diseases, that the population fell from more than 100 to only 60. According to Smith, many of the settlers were from aristocratic backgrounds and so were not inclined to work. Then he enforced the rule “that he that will not work shall not eat”  and enforced it with punishments or banishment from the fort. With the rule and some luck, Smith succeeded in making the colony self-sufficient.