2. Read Aloud By the middle of the 1600s, Europeans were streaming into North America by the thousands. They left the homes they had grown up in and their friends to go to a new land. They began new lives, often with only the contents of one small trunk. Why would so many people leave everything they had known to come to the English colonies?
3. Why did they come? Religious freedom Wealth “Colony Fever” hits England Times are bad, want better life Laws passed in England, still come to North America
4. Who Came? Wealthy some, most were not Poor Many sold everything they had to pay for the voyage Offered better way of life, cheap land, and greater opportunity worth the trip Thousands of Africans Kidnapped from their homes, forced to work as slaves
5. The Voyage Lasted usually 4 months Voyage dangerous and uncomfortable Trapped for weeks where sickness spread quickly Passengers in “great number [were] lodged between the two decks” Little Air or light Ceiling only 4 ½ ft. in height “Meat was old and tainted,…the bread moldy or wormy,…the water smelt very bad.”j
6. Indentured Servants and African Captives Open books to page 226. Read the first two paragraphs on the page. Who made up the group of indentured servants and captives that came to North America? Write a summary in the space provided.
7. What was life like for Indentured Servants? Why were there fewer servants working in New England? What is an Autobiography?
16. Summary Questions What hardships did people suffer to reach the English colonies? Sickness and death from overcrowded ships, rotten food, bad weather What was the slave trade? The business of buying and selling people for profit For what reasons did people make the voyage to North America? Religious freedom, cheap land, hope for a better life, desire for wealth
