Who migrated to North America in the 17th century and why did they come?

Abstract

For an essay on quality of immigrant life in the age of sail objective data are rare. Here, a process of estimation is enhanced, and qualified, using stages of the emigration process. Two journals of the era, those of Scots, Janet Schaw, and John Harrower, provide a personal link to events in the three-stage model of the experiences of travelers, many of whom were indentured servants. With the information from the Scots’ journals and a stochastic model of emigration we come a little closer to understanding the quality of life experienced by vital, energetic people seeking a higher quality of life across the Atlantic, in the age of sail.

Keywords

• Immigrant
• Chesapeake
• Indenture
• Janet Schaw
• John harrower
• Redemption

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Authors and Affiliations

1. University of Missouri–St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, MO, USA

   Thomas Jordan

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1. Thomas Jordan

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Appendices

Appendix 1: John Harrower’s Wife and Bairns and the Plight of an Emigrant Male’s Dependents

John Graunt’s Life Table

Viz of 100 there dies within the first six years … 36 The next ten years, or Decade … 24 The second Decad … 15. The third Decad…08 The Fourth … 6 the next …3 The next …2 The next …1

From whence it follows, that of the said 100 conceived there remains alive at six years end 64. At Sixteen years end … 40 At 26… 25

At tirty (sic) … 16 At Fourty six …10 At fifty six …6 At sixty six …3 At seventy six…1 At eighty …()

(Graunt, 1662, p. 70)

Appendix 2: Numerical Estimate of Females Indentured to America, Quality of Life

Appendix 3: Numerical Estimate of Males Indentured to America, Quality of Life

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Jordan, T. (2020). Seventeenth Century Immigrants to North America. In: Quality of Life and Early British Migration. SpringerBriefs in Well-Being and Quality of Life Research. Springer, Cham. //doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33077-4_2

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• DOI: //doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33077-4_2

• Published: 02 October 2019

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• Print ISBN: 978-3-030-33076-7

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