The early 1600s saw the beginning of
a great tide of emigration from Europe to North America. Spanning
more than three centuries, this movement grew from a trickle of
a few hundred English colonists to a flood of millions of newcomers.
Impelled by powerful and diverse motivations, they built a new civilization
on the northern part of the continent.
The first English immigrants to what
is now the United States crossed the Atlantic long after thriving
Spanish colonies had been established in Mexico, the West Indies
and South America. Like all early travelers to the New World, they
came in small, overcrowded ships. During their six- to 12-week voyages,
they lived on meager rations. Many died of disease; ships were often
battered by storms and some were lost at sea.
Most European emigrants left their
homelands to escape political oppression, to seek the freedom to
practice their religion, or for adventure and opportunities denied
them at home. Between 1620 and 1635, economic difficulties
swept England. Many people could not
find work. Even skilled artisans could earn little more than a bare
living. Poor crop yields added to the distress. In addition, the
Industrial Revolution had created a burgeoning textile industry,
which demanded an ever-increasing supply of wool to keep the looms
running. Landlords enclosed farmlands and evicted the peasants in
favor of sheep cultivation. Colonial expansion became an outlet
for this displaced peasant population.
The colonists' first glimpse of the
new land was a vista of dense woods. The settlers might not have
survived had it not been for the help of friendly Indians, who taught
them how to grow native plants -- pumpkin, squash, beans and corn.
In addition, the vast, virgin forests, extending nearly 2,100 kilometers
along the Eastern seaboard, proved a rich source of game and firewood.
They also provided abundant raw materials used to build houses,
furniture, ships and profitable cargoes for export.
Although the new continent was remarkably
endowed by nature, trade with Europe was vital for articles the
settlers could not produce. The coast served the immigrants well.
The whole length of shore provided innumerable inlets and harbors.
Only two areas -- North Carolina and southern New Jersey -- lacked
harbors for ocean-going vessels.
Majestic rivers -- the Kennebec, Hudson,
Delaware, Susquehanna, Potomac and numerous others -- linked lands
between the coast and the Appalachian Mountains with the sea. Only
one river, however, the St. Lawrence -- dominated by the French
in Canada -- offered a water passage to the Great Lakes and into
the heart of the continent. Dense forests, the resistance of some
Indian tribes and the formidable barrier of the Appalachian Mountains
discouraged settlement beyond the coastal plain. Only trappers and
traders ventured into the wilderness. For the first hundred years
the colonists built their settlements compactly along the coast.
Political considerations influenced
many people to move to America. In the 1630s, arbitrary rule by
England's Charles I gave impetus to the migration to the New World.
The subsequent revolt and triumph of Charles' opponents under Oliver
Cromwell in the 1640s led many cavaliers -- "king's men" -- to cast
their lot in Virginia. In the German-speaking regions of Europe,
the oppressive policies of various petty princes -- particularly
with regard to religion -- and the devastation caused by a long
series of wars helped swell the movement to America in the late
17th and 18th centuries.
The coming of colonists in the 17th
century entailed careful planning and management, as well as considerable
expense and risk. Settlers had to be transported nearly 5,000 kilometers
across the sea. They needed utensils, clothing, seed, tools, building
materials, livestock, arms and ammunition.
In contrast to the colonization policies
of other countries and other periods, the emigration from England
was not directly sponsored by the government but by private groups
of individuals whose chief motive was profit.