3 ms·

I'm from Europe and have absolutely no problem with this statement. I myself think that argument is valid. Although later immigrants had to take far less risk,

• RamiK 13y ago
  Not really. You had to have been of the wealthy third estate (free gentry or an ex-service man). Even an established guild member - above a journeyman and by consequence a free-citizen with voting and mobility rights - would have been disqualified since leaving the city for new residents would have meant leaving the guild and losing the (limited) freedom of mobility they need to board a ship. So they had to leave on good legal terms, still owning some land, which meant a large surplus of money. Now, can you think of a reason beyond religious persecution for someone of such a privileged class and circumstances to just decide to risk sea-travel for himself and his entire family and just pack up and leave?