Immigrant ships to America

This page is intended to capture information about the immigrant ships that brought our earliest ancestors to the New World. There are two main categories of ships identified in this article. The first category are those ships, such as the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria whose crews came to the New World to explore and perhaps claim new lands for their parent country. The other category are those ships such as the Mayflower whose passengers came here to settle. The ships of Exploration are critical for the historical context in which our immigrant ancestors found themselves, while the Ships of Colonization were the ships that actually brought our ancestors to these shores during the initial settlement. Technically, while the ships of exploration have long since ceased to sail to America, immigrant ships still come to these shores. This article, however, deals only with the Ships of Exploration, and the Ships of Colonization (those immigrant ships which were significant in the initial establishment of the original colonies). Those interested in immigrant ships that sailed later than roughly 1650 are invited to examine the list of links provided below:

Article

Frequently Answered Questions

Ships of Exploration

First Immigrant Ships

Immigrant Ships To America/Immigrants/New Sweden