Question: why did many of the early settlers of jamestown starve to death

title: Starving Time
text: The colonists , the first group of whom had originally arrived at Jamestown on May 13 , 1607 , had never planned to grow all of their own food . Their plans depended upon trade with the local Powhatan to supply them with food between the arrivals of periodic supply ships from England . Lack of access to water and a relatively dry rain season crippled the agricultural production of the colonists . Also , the water that the colonists drank was brackish and potable for only half of the year . A fleet from England , damaged by a hurricane , arrived months behind schedule with new colonists , but without expected food supplies . 

Answer: answer: Their plans depended upon trade with the local Powhatan to supply them with food between the arrivals of periodic supply ships from England.
A fleet from England, damaged by a hurricane, arrived months behind schedule with new colonists, but without expected food supplies.