Mismanagement In Jamestown

Englishmen had made an attempt to establish a permanent settlement in North America, but Jamestown was the first successful one. Founded in 1607 by Captain John Smith, the settlers began their conquest of Virginia. Inevitably, they ran into a number of issues as one will when one undertakes a challenge, but the different ranks in social class in Jamestown was the major source for mismanagement of the colony and disagreements among the people. The importance of social class, especially to the people higher up the social ladder, led to bad conduct in the settlement. Everyone wanted power and control in the colony, and that came with where on the social ladder each person fell. Many important figures, such as captains and other leaders, were

Trying to work with people of different social classes in a completely new setting was bound to create problems. While many of the immigrants were poor indentured servants, many others were gentlemen, people from high-ranking families who refused to work amongst the poor (Lange 22). Their clothing in Fig. 1 shows the significant difference between the wealthy, high-ranked and the poor (Cutler). The wealthier wore more elegant, colorful clothing, while the poor, indentured servants wore plain, worker’s trousers and shirt. This angered not only the workers, but also Captain John Smith, because it unfair to those who were working hard to build the community. Moreover, when Edward Wingfield was president, he imposed “military-style and rationing of food that was especially unpopular with the colonists” (“Edward Maria Wingfield”). He was only trying to do what he thought best for the survival of the colony, but the presidents’ efforts to maintain order were not always appreciated by the workers under him. The enforcement of such strict laws and policies angered the people, making them depose and replace their leaders, which was also a cause of mismanagement, mentioned earlier. The colonists only felt hatred towards these leaders when they tried to control them in ways they didn’t agree with; all they wanted was food and less work, but the leaders wanted the opposite. Although it may have been the best decision, it still did not change the feelings of the people, who disagreed and wanted their president out. On the other hand, when there was no one in power, there were disagreements about who would be the next president, which makes it clear that the existence of various social ranks in the settlement only caused more trouble than good. When captains left or died, “the leadership disintegrated, and the men began quarreling among themselves” instead of continuing