Difficulties for Early American Settlers

Coming to America was surely not a walk in the park for the early settlers; they were faced with many hardships. Of course they faced trials while there were in Britain, but none of them were prepared for what they were to encounter in the new world. It must have been extremely difficult for the settlers to leave their families, friends, and homes, to a land they knew almost nothing about, with no direct supply of fresh water or food.

When the settlers set off to the new world, they left their families, friends, and homes to start new lives. So, under those circumstances, why would they still go? Well, due to economic struggle, people were losing their jobs and money. When the opportunity to come to America arose, many of the struggling people saw it as a way to start over and make their fortune. Another reason was religious persecution. Both the catholic and protestant churches were fighting for power. When Britain was under catholic powers, the protestant people were persecuted, and fled to the new world in hopes of being able to worship in their own ways freely. Even though they were leaving their family and friends, going to America brought hope to suffering people.

The settlers and explorers knew almost nothing about the new world's geography, climate, or what inhabited it. So, when they came, they were taking a huge risk. Some settlers were killed by freezing cold weather. They had to build their own houses to keep them safe and warm. They did not have any kind of map or idea of where they were. A huge factor for many of the deaths was that most of the settlers were well brought up English men, who had never built a house or farmed.

The fact that the settlers had very little experience in agriculture was a reason why many died. The new world soil was very rich and plants grew well. But, they spent almost all their time searching for gold instead of farming and getting food. Their greed was not the only reason they starved, some settlers would arrive in the winter when there was snow or when it was too cold to grow anything.

The early American settlers had to leave everything and everyone they loved behind, to go to a new world, without any notion of how they were to acquire food. But, even so, the settlers continued to come to America