What Attracted Our Ancestors to the New World

The following article was written by Dick Eastman:

I learned in school that our ancestors came to the New World in the 1600s in search of religious freedom. While I still believe that to be true, I now believe the full story is a bit more complex than the reasons given in grammar school textbooks.

Religious freedom was a motivation for Puritans, Pilgrims, Quakers, and others, but thousands of other immigrants were members of the established church in England and had no interest in other theologies. What motivated them?

Perhaps the simplest answer is that living in England was very difficult at the time. The upper classes lived comfortably, but the majority of citizens had difficulty eking out even a mere subsistence. Starvation was not unknown, and even those who did eat regularly had diets that most of us today would reject. Without refrigeration or modern canning techniques, even those with some financial security had monotonous diets in the winter and early spring. The thought of eating turnip soup three times a day for weeks on end seems appalling today but was common in the 1600s. The Irish more likely ate potato soup.

Fish and meat were available but often at prices that were beyond the reach of most city dwellers. Their country cousins perhaps had a slightly better diet of meats and vegetables that they produced themselves, but country dwellers typically lacked other comforts of life. In the winter, there was no available fresh produce, regardless of where you lived. The only vegetables that were available were the root crops that could be stored for months: potatoes, turnips, carrots, etc. Cabbage, while not a root crop, also stores well and was frequently available. Few people could afford to purchase large quantities of these vegetables, so the little that a typical citizen could afford was frequently supplemented with water and served as soup. After all,soup was more filling than a few ounces of turnips or cabbage.

Perhaps today we do not appreciate the appalling conditions under which our ancestors lived. Imagine, if you will, a city with narrow streets on a warm summer day in which there were no sewers and no source of fresh water. The primary mode of transportation was by horse-drawn carriages and wagons, so horse manure was everywhere in the streets. Even so, the odor from human wastes must have been far stronger as chamberpots were typically dumped into the streets and alleyways. Most residents did not bathe regularly, did not wash their hair, and never brushed their teeth.

Of course, modern medical care was unknown, and medical ignorance was universal. These people did not know why they breathed air, how the digestive system worked, why brushing one's teeth was important, or why clean water was desirable.

Most of England's water was heavily polluted, and there was relatively little in the way of forests as they had been cut years earlier for timber and for firewood.

Without proper food preservation techniques, we can assume that most of the food our ancestors consumed had a high germ count. Without clean living quarters or clean water, we can also assume that most of our malnourished ancestors were ill a high percentage of the time. It's a wonder that any of them survived and had descendants!

Speculators and adventurers of the time wildly advertised living conditions in the New World as a Utopian experience. While the claims were partially true, those with a financial interest in attracting new immigrants were quick to embellish the facts. After all, there were no "truth in advertising" laws at the time.

We now know that many of the early settlers starved to death or died of diseases linked to malnutrition. Yet the reports sent back to England spoke glowingly of fertile fields and forests that were full of game for the hunter. The seas were described as full of fish available to anyone.

William Wood in his 1634 book, New England Prospect, wrote:

Unlike England's undrinkable water, New England's is "so good many preferred it to 'beer, whey, and buttermilk and those that drink it be as healthful, fresh and lusty as they that drink beer.'"

Winters, he claimed, were milder than in England, summers hotter but "tolerable because of the cooling effect of fresh winds." Oh, and food was plentiful: "deer, available for the taking; raccoon, as good as lamb; grey squirrels, almost as big as an English rabbit; turkeys, up to 40 pounds."

Hmmm, have you ever eaten raccoon? To the semi-starved residents of England, it must have sounded like a feast.

You can read the first few pages of a modern-day reprint of William Wood's book, New England Prospect, on Google Books at: http://books.google.com/books?id=dXFwRzKdhAEC&dq=William+Wood+in+his+book+New+England+Prospect&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=zr79SbDsHuGMtgen_PSiDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4.

I have focused on the people and the lifestyles of England simply for convenience; those records and books are easy to read for modern-day English speakers. However, the lifestyles and the motivations were similar in Ireland, Scotland, and all throughout Europe.

In fact, some of our ancestors made the difficult trip over the Atlantic for religious freedom. However, probably a much larger number made the trip for adventure and for greater financial opportunities. After all, life was none too pleasant in "the Old Country." Many believed that life would be much better in the New World. In some cases, they were correct.

I certainly am glad that they made the trip!

Comments

[MaryLou]

Of course, the fact that some were burned at the stake for even saying something that differed with the "accepted" religion of the time, might have had a lot to do with it. The Bible was printed
and many , but not all, could read for the first time in order to argue with the "religious leaders".. That didn't go well. When one member of the family was burned at the stake..,for saying that we would all be judged, the leaders thought they would not be judged and burned him at the stake... the rest of the family fled for Holland as they were more generous with free thought.
FREEDOM mean so much... Why our forefather.mothers were willing to leave loved ones and homeland to a better place where they could make FREEDOM available.

[Douglas Burnett]

Good Morning Dick
I really enjoyed the article. To me learning about the period a particular generation lived has been one of the benefits of genealogy. I often wonder if I could have endured what some of my ancestors did?
Another comparison that I find very interesting to make is with our astronauts. We look at their death defying ventures and think 'Oh My Gosh". Well folks it ain't new. A great book to describe the hardships, failures, and successes our explorers from almost 200 years ago endured is *Resolute* by Sandler. For those explorations the men were gone for 2,3,and 4 years without seeing anyone else.
Dick:Thanks again for the article and I really enjoy your newsletter.Hope to see you in Raleigh.,
Douglas Burnett
Satellite Beach
FL

[Maryann Rosie]

The Irish probably at potato soup in the 1600's? Well I guess since it was introduced into Europe about 1536 from the Americaa they might have but I would think the use of potatoes as a staple source of starch in Ireland was more 18th and 19th century.

The available of cultivars was limited even in the 19th century which is why it was susceptible to blight and the potato famine occured in the 1840's.

[Sandra J Smith]

You paint a very bleak picture indeed!
The staple diet of every English person was bread and ale; the latter drunk because the water was of poor quality. Cheese, butter and onions were available all the year round. Hence the "ploughman's lunch" we still have available in English pubs today. In the country, preserves were always made from summer and autumn fruits and pickling in vinegar was common for items like onions, walnuts, eggs. Apples were stored over winter and meat was salted down for storage. Porridge, made from oats and water was probably the most common "staple" after bread. Milk and eggs were always available in the countryside where the majority of people lived prior to the industrial revolution. I don't think it was quite so bad as you paint!

[gmf]

Come to think of it many of our fairly immediate ancestors revelled in the thoughts of fresh vegetables as soon as any were available in the Spring. My own grandmother had no electricity; she didn't want it. I recall she had stored apples in the cellar for the Winter.

Some of our farmer ancestors who were not financially well off did not take baths very often and used outhouses.

[Harold Miller]

I think MaryLou is getting carried away ascribing a reason for emigrating as people being burning at the stake for disagreeing with the accepted regligion. The last person to be burned at the stake for heresy in England was 1612 and most of our ancestors migrated after that. Buring at the stake was not common in other countries. I think Dick is right on, that the most common reason for migrating was to escape poverty, rather than for religious reasons.

[Cathie Christie]

I immigrated from Scotland in 1954, and believe it or not, we were still being rationed from WW2.
Ate lots of potato soup and still enjoy it now.
Great to be in America...and a citizen.

[Robert P Murray]

I read an article about a year ago regarding the issue of migration. I can't remember the publication or date, but the author was postulating that many explorers, settlers, and immigrants all suffered from what, today, we'd call ADD or attention deficit disorder -- always wanting to know "what's on the other side of that hill." Once they saw what was on the other side, it was time to move on to the next hill. A very interesting theory. Has anyone else come across this theory?

[James]

Our Ancestors came to the New World to bring the Gospel and Freedom to the indians. Not only could the indians now enter into the gates of Heaven, they were taught the Laws of Civilized Mankind by our Ancestors. God made it so.

[Judy Burns]

Cathie, we eat potato soup at our house on a regular basis. We also have beef stew and beans and ham. We are very glad that you decided to make this country your home. One gg grandfather was Irish, one was Swiss, and one was from Bavaria. I suspect that all of them thought they would make a better life here. Isn't this a great country?