The Starving Time: Jamestown at the Edge of Extinction

<p>Jamestown is remembered as the first permanent English settlement in North America, but its survival was anything but certain. Founded in 1607 in pursuit of profit, the colony quickly faced disease, hunger, poor leadership, environmental disaster, and worsening conflict with the Powhatan people. By the winter of 1609–1610, conditions became so desperate that colonists ate horses, rats, leather, and even the dead. Only about sixty survived. In this episode, we trace Jamestown from hopeful experiment to near-total collapse—and explore how a colony that came within hours of abandonment somehow survived, found profit in tobacco, and helped shape the future of English America.</p><p><br></p>