MIGRATION: Voyage conditions and illnesses

https://teara.govt.nz/en/the-voyage-out

Q1. Where did people prefer to migrate to and why? 
Most people preferred to migrate to Canada or the Americas. This is because voyages to countries such as New Zealand were very long and strenuous, taking up to 120 days. What's more, most people were restricted to poor conditions with limited food and space as only the rich could afford cabins. 

Q2. How would people feel on the day they left?
People would feel distraught and upset to leave their relatives and native land, often to never return. Women often cried, sometimes together, sometimes reading letters. Travel wasn't as convenient as it is now and seeing, and communicating, with family was almost impossible after migrating to another country. 

Q3. Describe the conditions in steerage. 
As only wealthy people could afford private cabins, the poorer people, which outnumbered the rich by 10:1, had to travel in small spaces with low ceilings called steerages. The steerage was located below the main deck. 

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Q4+5: What were some of the issues people faced in storms, with food and hygiene? What were some of the sicknesses you got onboard? 

Because there were so many people with poor hygiene in such a confined space, diseases and illness spread extremely quickly. Cholera, tuberculosis, influenza and smallpox were just one of many diseases common in the 1800's as they were easily transmitted - especially in the confined, cramped conditions that many people on ships had to face for months. Infectious diseases soon became the most serious threat to health and wellbeing in the early 1900's.