1 86 : The Atlantic 



ing kept the new Americans interested in the place of their European 

 origin. 



Usually the very ships that carried out the settlers returned to their 

 European ports bearing from the settlers letters to families and 

 friends. Two subjects appeared over and over in such letters. One sub- 

 ject was that of the needs of the new colony and colonists, things 

 that might be sent to make the new land more homelike and manage- 

 able. The other subject dealt with the opportunities that the new 

 land provided and often also involved the suggestion that further col- 

 onists were needed and welcome and that some friend or relative 

 might also make the westward crossing. 



Thus, communication between the shores of America and Europe 

 continued to grow in volume and diversity. The number of ships sail- 

 ing the Atlantic increased rapidly in number and also in the diversity 

 of cargoes they carried. At first they were only European ships sailing 

 back and forth and most of the goods and all of the people were flow- 

 ing from Europe to America, but it was not long before vessels built 

 in the colonies also made the trip to Europe carrying raw materials 

 and even manufactured products from America to Europe. The colo- 

 nists were not cut oil from Europe and their passage across the Atlan- 

 tic became neither trackless nor forgotten; it was rather as though 

 the wake made by their ships continued to shine and to mark upon 

 the sea a channel for many later vessels to follow. 



As early as 1608 a vessel sailed from Massachusetts with local prod- 

 ucts for the English market. In the same year a vessel also left the Vir- 

 ginia colony for England with a mixed cargo that included wood 

 products such as clapboards and wainscoting and also tar and pitch, 

 iron ore, glass, etc. 



It is interesting to note that at this early time eight Poles and Ger- 

 mans had already been sent out to the colony because of the skills 

 that they possessed in handling glass and metals and in other manu- 

 factures. It was expected from the first that the Virginia colony would 

 develop and supply manufactured articles but naturally the early Eng- 

 lish colonies had great difficulty in producing articles that would pass 

 into European trade. Also, while colonial manufacture was desirable 

 from the point of view of the colonizing company, it was not looked 

 upon with favor by other merchants or by the government. It was 

 not until the Virginia colonists began raising, curing and shipping 

 tobacco that the economic welfare of the colony was assured. 



The first profitable trade of the New England colonies was in furs 

 which they secured from the Indians and in wood products — boards 



