Steerage and Third Class on Ocean Liners

brickyard 44-67 win 2-0-0 at 1-0 runway 3-1 left at kilo echo clear for takeoff so you booked a third class ticket on an ocean liner and you want to know what to expect the answer will depend largely on what year your planned voyage is set to begin let's assume you'll be leaving in the late 1800s when ocean liner travel was only a couple of decades old and was still settling in as someone who is poor and likely immigrating to a new country or traveling to visit your family back home you arrive at the office of a shipping line or agent to book your passage across the ocean for something like three pound sterling the clerk or agent hands you a ticket or perhaps a contract which will later allow you to board the ship on the day your ship is scheduled to sail you arrive at the wharf everything you'll be needing during the voyage is on your person a mattress eating utensils a little money and maybe a family token to remind you of home like all the ships at the time yours is relatively small for example britannic of the white star line was large fast and prestigious for 1880 but was still only 468 feet long and 5 000 tons as a result third class passengers had to wait on the docks until all cabin passengers those who paid enough to have their own private space during the journey had boarded once the order was given the steerage passengers boarded and were guided below deck to their living spaces from time to time one of the more fortunate steerage passengers would take one look around the large open space they and a couple hundred others were set to occupy during the voyage and would immediately disembark the ship to pay for the difference for a cabin ticket during the voyage steerage passengers were provided daily rations of food and water here's an example of what would be allotted for a single steerage passenger on the cunard line in 1888 three quarts of water excluding what was necessary for cooking three percent pounds of bread one percent pounds of fresh bread one pound of flour one percent pounds of oatmeal one percent pounds of rice three pounds of potatoes one percent pounds of peas four ounces of raisins two pounds of beef one percent pounds of pork one pound of fish two ounces of tea two ounces of coffee or cocoa one pound of sugar one gill of molasses one kilo of vinegar three ounces of salt one ounce of mustard and pepper children under the age of eight would receive exactly half of each ration before we get further into this video i want to remind you to hit the subscribe button if you're interested in transportation history or both you'll want to know when a new video is posted if you have something to say make sure you leave a comment below okay back to the video the main space which steered passengers occupy is typically long and being deep within the hull tapered off at one end or the other as the bower stern comes to a point a portion of a mast might be running vertically through the room and other equipment critical to the ship's functionality might take up some space there might be some glass or an opening leading up to the deck to allow in some light and fresh air along the sides of the public room doors open up into sleeping compartments formed by thin wood partitions compartments vary in size depending on the shipping line and the ship itself but might contain a couple dozen bunks each in the middle of the compartment there is usually a porthole to provide light and when the weather is decent some fresh air the sleeping compartments are segregated by sex and familial status single men and single women are kept separated often a single woman traveling alone will be given a private compartment married couples are placed in compartments with other married couples but with no fewer people per compartment depending on the size of the ship the public room might be converted to accommodate tables and seating for dinner alternatively there might be a separate dining saloon for the sewage passengers to eat dinner either way the food is plenty and more nutritious than some steerage passengers are used to nonetheless meals are often tasteless or worse since you'll be supplying your own dishes and utensils you will be expected to clean the dishes yourself a tub of hot water will be put out on deck for cleaning and scraps of food can be dumped over the side of the ship the tub of course will get cold quickly and only a fortunate few will be able to wash their dishes in water absent of food debris drinking water will be put out in the public room but fresh water being limited you'll likely have to drink from a public cup so that the stewards can be sure you are not taking water for other purposes such as cleaning using the lavatory is usually more difficult and uncomfortable at sea than onshore especially for women of course a private bathroom is out of the question but even getting to the public facilities could prove difficult as they might not be within the usual steerage compartment and likely requires a walkout on deck bear in mind the need to use the bathroom does not stop once seas are rough in weather extreme for some sleeping might be the most uncomfortable part of the day in steerage like everyone else you have no privacy so if you're not accustomed to sleeping in the presence of strangers not to mention strangers who could be a little rough around the edges falling asleep might prove difficult with any luck the seas will become at night and you will not have to contest with the ships rolling and pitching as you try to sleep even if there are no seas at night it is important to remember that safe passage during ocean voyages is not a guarantee in 1880 ships sync regularly for various reasons and this is a fact present in the minds of all aboard since the ships are still small and especially vulnerable to the sea passengers cannot be on deck when the conditions are beyond a certain state passengers can be thrown around the deck breaking bones or washing them overboard if a wave hits the ship just right those prone to sea sickness are forced below despite the fact that enclosed spaces and stale air only makes seasickness worse the bowen stern of the ship which is where starage accommodations are typically situated pitch up and down more than the center of the ship making seasickness even worse worst of all violence and aggression among the passengers is common although its presence varies between ships and particular voyages young women who are usually afforded little or no privacy can be verbally and physically attacked or harassed by other passengers on a regular basis the immigrants among the series passengers always face the possibility of being turned back once the ship arrives at its destination luckily though if this happens to you the shipping line will pay the fine and the cost of your return journey home decades after your voyage in 1880 steerage changes quite a bit over the course of the first decade of the 20th century standards in steamship travel increased dramatically it is during this time that we see the introduction of ships like lusitania mauritania olympic and titanic which are among the first ships that meet the expectation of luxury that has persisted ever since by this time the typical large ocean liner carried three classes first second and third third being commonly referred to as durage but the standards in the first class had increased to the point that the expectation was passengers traveling at first class would hardly know they were at sea at all second class consequently became what the first class used to be very comfortable but passengers would certainly be able to feel that they were on a ship third class on most ships had improved substantially by this time this improvement was a necessity due to competition but also because the rapidly increasing cost of travel by ship forced many well-off people to travel on the third class in addition to economic pressures there was a growing trend of public outrage over the conditions endured by steerage passengers crossing the atlantic by 1908 newly constructed or renovated steerage accommodations were much different from in the past in fact it is around this time that one could truly begin referring to the lowest class on a ship as third class instead of steerage the third class began to consist of small simple staterooms which afforded privacy comfort quiet and cleanliness these staterooms were more formally and rigidly separated by sex and familial status than in the past and could be viewed as simpler and better versions of the second class cabins on the same ship if traveling together a family may have a stateroom to themselves men and women traveling alone would be in rooms with a handful of bunks as opposed to dozens they would get to know their bunkmates well but may even have the room to themselves from time to time although private washrooms were still not available for third class passengers ample toilet facilities were provided for the number of third class passengers on board instead of bringing their own mattresses each bunk was fitted with bed linen similarly passengers no longer had to provide their own eating utensils and other essentials meals were served in the dining saloon fitted with permanent tables set with silverware and dishes which would be filled with adequate food for each chinese the concept of third class was falling out of fashion immigration to the united states was in rapid decline from its peak in the first 25 years of the 20th century these numbers would not recover and shipping lines needed to fill their massive ocean liners with paying passengers average working people would come to fill this void as tourists but even emigrating people had come to expect comparatively luxurious accommodations and taurus would have even higher standards over time the third class morphed into something new that went by different names but this new class was commonly referred to as the tourist third class or tourist class travelers in the tourist class could expect private staterooms and amenities similar to what would become standard on modern cruise ships at the end of the ocean liner era the tourist class epitomized the rising middle class and allowed the average person to travel between countries and continents for leisure without paying for an expensive second class ticket or enduring the grittier conditions of the third class over time the third class as it once was would disappear entirely just like the ocean liner itself at the dawn of the jet age [Music] you

Channel: The Great Big Move

Views: 274,343

Keywords: steerage, third class, titanic, first class, immigrant, immigrants, transatlantic, white star line, cunard, cunard line, olympic, rms, rms titanic, lusitania, mauretania, aquitania, britannic, atlantic, ocean liner, ocean, liner, saloon, dining saloon, sinking, steamship, passengers, second class, tourist, tourist class, history, documentary, maritime history

Id: Rux4wEJktes

Length: 9min 9sec (549 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 21 2019