What was it like to be on a SHIP in the 19th and early 20th cenury from other countries to America?

Question

What is that like. What could you do. What did the ship smell like. Was it sanitary. Was it comfortable. What is like a cruise. Were there bad people. What food was there. Was there bathrooms. Was there beds. Im really talking about the early ships that came to Ellis island over 100 years ago.

Answer 1

Well I wasn't there but from what I've read it was a living hell.

Answer 2

This sounds silly, but watch the movie "An American Tail". Yes, the one with the mouse. If you are talking about immigrant ships, there were large passenger ships that offered bare-bones accommodations for people who had very little money. My grand parents talked about how their families came over "steerage class", meaning that their sleeping quarters were in the bottom of the ship. They slept dormitory-style and ate simple meals in dining halls like cafeterias. Most of the day, they spent up on deck so they could get fresh air. ships like the Titanic were for more affluent people. If you've seen "Titanic" , you might remember the scenes down in the 3rd class passenger section. The people down there were immigrants, but that was probably much nicer than most of the immigrant ships.

Answer 3

It was very uncomfortable and smelly. The food was awful and frequently caused diarrhea. There was no soap. It was boring (there were no computers or TVs, so people were lucky to have a book). The immigrants left their countries because they were poor or persecuted in Europe. It was very scary for them to travel far away (often with children) not knowing what the new life would be like. Would they find a job? Would it be too hot or too cold in America? Will the local people be friendly? It was scary not to know.

Answer 4

Terrible. You could sit and wait. It smelled like many, many unwashed bodies and latrines. No it was not sanitary. No it was not comfortable. (Unless you are a sardine.) No not even close to a cruise. One big room with everyone gathered in it. Yes, there were bad people. Not much food. No bathrooms, just buckets. No beds. People hated the passage, but were willing to put upwith it for a chance to come to wonderful America. At that time it was a priviledge to come here. Not a right.

Answer 5

Well Titanic sank in the early 20th century. It was luxurious if you could afford it. It was smelly, dank and awful in the areas where you couldn't pay much. 19th century ships were not that nice. People often died crossing over. Crime on board most ships was dealt with harshly.

Answer 6

CONDITIONS ON SHIPS
One traveler on the sea from Ireland to america writes...
Darkness was falling as we rode the wintry seas, The lights of Ireland fading to become fond memories. The Maud was creaking, tossing, lashed by wind and rain, And the sea-sickness gripped us, as our stomachs ached with pain. The feeling it was awful as you tried to keep your head, As you rolled about that bloody boat, you wished that you were dead. Murphy in his agony belched and cried and roared, 'Get me absolution quick' says he, 'for I'm jumping overboard'

Another sample

There were no proper controls on the numbers of passengers travelling on a particular ship, and ticket agents simply sold as many tickets as they could. This led to dangerous overcrowding, especially when weather conditions were bad and deck passengers needed shelter. Seventy two passengers, travelling from Sligo to Liverpool on the Londonderry , suffocated to death in December 1848.

FOOD
The most common meats on sailing vessels were usually salt-pork or salt-beef. As you can guess by the names, these were heavily salted slabs of meat that taste pretty bad. They were stored in large wooden barrels. Despite the salt, they tended to get even more foul tasting by the end of the trip.

The closest thing you find today similar would be Slim-Jims. Imagine trying to live on nothing but Slim-Jims for a couple of months.

Also in the 19th Century, most sailing vessels began to carry limes in order to prevent scurvy. This started with the British Navy, which is how they got the nickname "limeys".

Other common foods were dried beans and crackers. The US Navy fed sailor a white bean that became known as the "Navy Bean".

Also, by the 1870's you were beginning to see the introduction of food stored in tin cans. This was being quickly adopted by navys and merchant vessels as an alternative to salt-meat barrels.

If a ship lost its food, it could mean big trouble. Trips could take several weeks, a long time to go without food. Of course, if the ship was going slowly enough, people could catch fish on the boat. The real danger was losing all your fresh water. People can go days without food. It is much harder to go without water. If you lost water and it didn't rain, you were in big trouble.

Of course, in the North Atlantic at least, you were never too far from land. You could always make a run for Iceland or Greenland in an emergency. South Atlantic crossings, were farther away from emergency help.

Answer 7

how am i supposed to know!?!