1610

The World of 400 years ago was a tough one for a man or woman to survive in.People, no matter what their class, status or income dealt with a life expectancy of somewhere between 45 and 50 years. That meant, effectively that someone in their MID! TWENTIES! could properly be considered middle aged. Someone my age  currently- 56- rather elderly!

  There was not a theory of disease to guide the medical community that was still not to come to be until over 200!!! years in the future! Therefore medical practitioners did not see a need to wash their hands , as a matter of fact a doctor working on with multiple patients needing his urgent attention COULD rush from patient to patient without any thought of cleansing and decontaminating themselves. Bleeding of patients, to establish a healthy blood balance was considered to be a life- saving procedure. When George Washington died in 1799. he was being treated for a severe throat infection. His doctors bled him-.Therefore, The proximate/ most immediate cause of Our First President was blood loss. George Washington Was wealthy, prominent and considered to be powerful- this is the medical treatment he was accorded- how do you think someoe seen as "lesser than he" would have been treated.

The socially well connected people of the Early 17th Century did not ALWAYS have money but they had status that they flaunted energetically. In 2010, A Gentleman is someone who is polite, dignified and proper.In 1610,A Gentleman was someone who did not work, it was vital to them that they did no manual labor whatsoever. These men were often the 4th and 5th born children of their families, they had the cool name but were not likely to inherit any wealth or land. Therefore, They came to places like Virginia in order to find wealth- gold- which would then allow them to return to Europe and live well.

Now, These gentlemen WOULD did and tire themselves out to find Gold. They would not see that as a negative thing because they would be able to live more prominently as a gentleman once they were wealthier. However, The earliest settlers of the colony of Virginia had to build up from scratch- they needed to find a good water supply and build shelter for themselves. Many of us remember that John Smith told the Jamestown colonists that " He who does not work shall not eat". this was a challenge to THE GENTLEMEN.If they did nothing to provide for the survival of the colony they would not gain access to wehat they had to have to survive.

Survival was tough at Jamestown, The water supply was doug too close to the latrines and rains created contaminated water. They did not grow enough food or build sufficient enough shelter. The Indians helped them to limp along- with a 50 % death toll through the winters of 1607 -1608 and 1608-1609. The colonists were not wise- they often antagonized the Indians  who were part of their survival strategy. There were 500 colonists living in Jamestown at the beginning of the Winter of 1609-1610, by Spring there were only 50 on the brink of death colonists living in Jamestown. Brutal weather, starvation and disease ravaged the colony that winter. The colonists actually decided to all return to England at that point.They actually were on a ship on heading out before they encountered ships with sufficient supplies and enough healthy men commiteed to work hard and well.

It was a different age, an age where what people had lived by for centuries mattered more than seeking better and more workable solutions. An example of this is found in the name of a tropical disease -Malaria. We know that Malaria was known of in the days of The Roman Empire. The best medical and scientific minds of Europe in the years before the year 500 thought this sickness was caused by foul air, The very name tells us this - Mal ( Bad/ Very Negative and Displeasing) and Aria (Air). What was believed by the best minds in year 210 was also held to be true in 719, 1210 and yes, 1610!  We know that does not hold true in our time- the most mature and intelligent people do not hold on to ideas that are very old and harmful- obviously harmful to them!

So, If we had a Time Machine ready to go , Would you be willing to spend months, years or decades living in the 1600's?