Regardless of the nationality, religious beliefs, marital status, or family size of the immigrants who undertook a voyage to the New World in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, they all shared the common experience of crossing the Atlantic. They established daily routines of food preparation and cooking, caring for their livestock, practicing their religion, and entertaining their children.

Ships of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

Each voyager crossed the ocean on a sailing vessel built of wood and controlled by the brute strength of its crew. But none of these ships was intended primarily for the immigrants' voyage. The wooden sailing vessels that crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were generally designed for carrying cargo, not passengers, to and from the colonies. These ships were built with wide...