Immigration to America (249 words)
The first settlers who came to America were not rich. The ships, food, tools and weapons necessary for voyage to America and new life there were financed by companies in England. One person's voyage to the New World cost about ten pounds. Settlers also needed help until they harvested crops. The total cost was probably more than ten thousand dollars, in today's dollars, for each settler.
Settlers had to find out how to repay this debt. Almost all the settlers became farmers and raised food and made material for their clothes. They also produced raw materials which they could send back to England.
In the South, in such colonies as Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina, tobacco was found most profitable. In South Carolina and Georgia, rice was the most popular crop. Slaves worked in the tobacco and rice fields on large plantations. There were also some independent farms which raised them.
On farms from New York to Pennsylvania, settlers produced large quantities of grain, beer, beef and pork, and they exported them to England and the West Indies. They also exported large quantities of furs, which they received in trade from Indians.
Settlers in New England had a hard time at the beginning. Raising crops in the stony soil was difficult, so they had to find other means to make a profit. They depended on lumber and other natural resources. They had to use the sea to make a living. They did ship-building, fishing and trading.
Now calculate your reading speed. Click on the button, you will see the number of words per minute.Ready to take the quiz? Yes