Segment 4,5,and 6 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Segment 4,5,and 6 - Term Paper Example lberger recounts that the migrant passengers were â€Å"packed densely, like herrings† into the ships awaited them in harbors of Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Each person received no more than 2-ft. wide bedstead, as a typical ship carried over 400 to 600 passengers. The miseries of the passengers usually began in the Dutch waters already, as the ships were compelled to pass through 8-14-day long customs examination at British ports, as they arrived there. However, the real hardship was to begin during the voyage across the Atlantic, as the vessels carrying migrants took 8 to 12 weeks until they reached Philadelphia. During such trips, gales and epidemics often struck the passengers, leading to rather high mortality levels and general discontent. In particular, infants and 1 to 7 year-old children were rarely to survive such trip. The most degrading part of the voyage, nevertheless, was to begin in the harbor of Philadelphia, as the destitute passengers were effectively sold to those who could pay for their new servants’ passage money. Usually adult persons were to serve for 3 to 6 years for the benefit of their purchasers, while the adolescents could be purchased to serve until they would be 21 year old. During such sale procedures, whole families were frequently torn apart. Segment 5. William Pitt’s Speech on the Stamp Act, 14 January 1766. This speech by William Pitt, Sr., who was at that time a leader of the Opposition, was to play one of the decisive roles in the repeal of the Stamp Act and the temporary softening of the British position with respect to the Colonies. Pitt pointed out that even â€Å"under former arbitrary reigns† it had been assumed that taxation entails the right of representation in the Parliament, and vice versa. He cited the example of Wales to show that the Colonists were right to demand the same attitude towards themselves. Pitt warned that the attempts of â€Å"the late administration† to â€Å"rob† the Colonies would be a dangerous