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Emigration Overview
Emigration from Britain to North America began as early as 1585, but the first successful
settlement was not established until Jamestown in 1607, with perhaps the most famous subsequent
arrivals being that of the Mayflower
from Plymouth in 1620 carrying
a party of Puritans. Emigrants also went to work
on the tobacco plantations in Virginia, many as indentured servants of the
plantation owners, but emigration
to America and Canada continued throughout the 19th and 20th
centuries.
The
Americas were also
Britain's first penal colony, with many thousands of men,
women and children from
England,
Scotland,
Wales and
Ireland sentenced to transportation in the 17th
and 18th centuries.
Although
the sentences were usually only for 7 or 14 years, most would never be able to
return home.
Transportation to America ended with the American War of Independence in 1776
Between 1830 and 1930 over nine million
emigrants sailed from Liverpool bound for a new life in the "New World" countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia. For much of this period Liverpool was the most popular port of departure for emigrants from Europe
to the Americas and Canada because she already had well established transatlantic
links based on the import of cotton and timber. Liverpool was also well placed to receive the many emigrants from the countries
of north western Europe, who would cross the North Sea to Hull and then travel to Liverpool by train. Liverpool's share of the emigrant trade began to
decline from the late 19th century as emigrants increasingly came
from the countries of southern and eastern Europe, and although some passed
through Liverpool, most sailed from the nearer German and Italian ports.
There were three main motives for
emigration. Some of the emigrants were fleeing from the hardships of
poverty and unemployment, for example, the 1,250,000 Irish who emigrated
between 1845 and 1851 as a result of the potato famine. For Russian and
Polish Jews, emigration was a way of escaping from political and religious
persecution. Other emigrants were not suffering the hardships of poverty
or the terror of persecution, but were attracted by the possibility of a higher
standard of living in the United States, Canada and elsewhere in the "New World". The "Gold Rush" in America and Australia also encouraged people to emigrate to make their
fortunes.
Emigrants could often spend from one to ten
days or more, waiting for their ship in a Liverpool lodging house. In the late 1840s and 1850s, lodging houses were
often inhospitable, dirty and overcrowded. In the mid-19th
century emigrants passing through Liverpool were also subject to harassment and
fraud by local confidence tricksters, known as 'runners', who would frequently
snatch emigrants' luggage and would only return it upon payment of a large fee.
From the 1860s the situation began to
improve as steam started to replace sail on the Atlantic route. The
steamship companies started to look after the emigrants during their stay in
Liverpool with their representatives meeting them upon arrival in Liverpool,
and taking them to lodging houses which were often owned by the steamship
companies.
Until the early 1860s most emigrants left
Liverpool on a sailing ship. The voyage to the United States and Canada took about thirty five days. Most emigrants
travelled in the cheapest class of accommodation, known as the steerage.
This was similar to a dormitory with bunks down the sides and tables in the
centre. It was frequently overcrowded with poor ventilation.
Emigrating in a sailing ship could be unpleasant, particularly during a
storm. Seasickness was a particular problem on the stormy North Atlantic westbound voyage, and diseases such as cholera and
typhus frequently reached epidemic proportion as infection spread throughout
the confined decks. Scores of emigrants died from these diseases.
Conditions improved following the 1855 Passenger Act which laid down minimum
standards for rations, space and sanitation.
By 1870 virtually all emigrants to the United States and Canada went by steamship and the voyage was consequently
reduced to between seven and ten days. Competition between the steamship companies
helped, to some extent, to improve conditions for the emigrants, and from about
1900, third-class cabins began to replace the steerage accommodation.
Between
1830 and 1930, nine million emigrants from Britain, Ireland and every
corner of Europe had sailed from Liverpool to the USA.
Emigrants made a variety of new lives for
themselves in the United States and Canada, finding work on farms, in industry and building
railways. Some fared no better or even worse than at home, and often
returned home if they could afford to do so.