Starving Time

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STARVING TIME

STARVING TIME is the term applied to the winter of 1609–1610 at the Jamestown settlement. By spring 1610, only 60 of the 215 settlers remained alive. Research by the Jamestown Recovery Project, which began in 1994, indicates a severe drought in 1609 caused crop failures and poor harvests. Indian depredations and disease also contributed to the deaths. The arrival of a supply fleet in May 1610 saved the colony. The term has also been applied to the Plymouth Colony in spring 1622.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barisic, Sonja. "Unearthing Jamestown Hardships: Hastily Buried Bodies Indicate Desperate Times." Associated Press (9 April 2001).

Bradford, William. History of Plymouth Plantation, 1620–1647. New York: Russell and Russell, 1968.

Jerry L.Parker

See alsoColonial Settlements ; andvol. 9:Starving in Virginia .