The colonists faced many problems in Jamestown. Disease, especially mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and yellow fever killed many of the inhabitants. The founders of Jamestown placed the settlement too close to the brackish James River and there was a shortage of potable water. The first settlers were all gentleman farmers at first and they were not used to getting their hands dirty--it took John Smith's military discipline to make the men even create a stockade. There was also the issue of how to pay back the investors--the early settlers of Jamestown wasted their time looking for a Northwest Passage (a waterway to China) and mining for gold; Virginia is not known as a gold-producing state. The men finally decided on growing a hybridized tobacco pioneered by John Rolfe--this tobacco was made from the prolific strain grown and smoked by the natives in the area and a better tasting variety from the Caribbean. Incidentally, the colonists exported this tobacco to England and ultimately around the world. Another large problem the colonists had was with the Powhatan tribe--English livestock destroyed native farms and their diseases killed many Powhatan--this would lead to several wars with the tribe.
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