In the time period of European exploration throughout the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries, all of the European powers competed to set up colonies/trading posts in the New World. England was a late arrival to the contest and their first foray was the settlement of Jamestown in 1607. People often disagree on the degree of success that the settlement of Jamestown achieved as some people say that it was a success, while others would say that it was a complete disaster. Professor Karen Ordahl Kupperman would agree with the former argument, while Professor Edmund S. Morgan would agree with the latter. Professor Morgan asserts in his paper that the settlement of Jamestown was a complete fiasco because of multiple reasons. The first reason stated being that during the early years of the colony, it was directed poorly and organized and no real leader was able to take control of the direction of the colony. This led to the colonists still needing to rely on the Indians for food ten years after their arrival. Morgan also stated that the collective organization of labor was another reason, which is everyone is farming together and everyone gets an even share of the harvest. This method of agriculture had the same result that it has had throughout all of history in which it gives people an incentive to not want to work hard. This happens because one that works really hard will end up with the same share as another who is lazy and doesn't work at all. Therefore the hard workers will realize that it doesn't matter whether or not they work hard because even if they don't work hard, they will still receive the same share as the lazy worker. This leads to a lazy workforce and smaller yields. Smaller yields will lead to a smaller food supply and an increased reliance on the Indians for food. Also, many colonists were not even working-class people, but were "gentlemen," or members of the privileged who were not experienced in manual labor and didn't aid tremendously when it came to farming.
