Early settlers of Jamestown preferred seeking gold to farming.

The early settlers of Jamestown were primarily focused on finding gold and other valuable resources to send back to England, rather than cultivating crops and establishing sustainable farms. This was largely due to the incentives put in place by the Virginia Company, which had funded the settlement and hoped to generate quick profits from the venture. However, this approach proved to be unsustainable and many settlers died of starvation and disease before ultimately turning to agriculture as a more viable means of survival.