SS 'Rotterdam' bij avond

Between 1830 and 1930 a lot of people from European countries emigrated to North and South America hoping for a better future. For a lot of these emigrants Rotterdam was the last part of Europe they set foor on. The 'Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij' (NASM - better known as the Holland-America Line - HAL) played an important role in this process. Between 1880 and 1925 over one million Europans crossed the Atlantic Ocean on one of the HAL passenger ships. In this painting (measuring (hxw) 98,5 x 140 cm) you see one of them, the 'Rotterdam IV', returning in Rotterdam after a trip to America. The peak of the emigration-wave lied between 1901 and 1914. In that period over 700.000 emigrants left Europe via the Rotterdam port. Most of them in 1913: a total of 82.470 emigrants - which means 225 people a day! For many years German emigrants were the most important group of emigrants, but that changed around 1890 when more and more people from Russia, Poland, Austria-Hungaria and Romania decided to look for a better future in America. They arrived in Rotterdam by train, spent a few nights in one of the special emigrant-hotels and afterwards left for America. Conditions on the passenger ships were harsh. People in different classes were strictly separated. Especially for class II and III the trip across the Atlantic was tough. Each emigrant was assigned a bunk measuring 1,85 x 0,50 metres, there were three meals a day and there was one toilet for every 100 passengers. The average time for a trip to New York was eleven days. Due to more strict emigration laws in the United States in the 1920s emigration from Europe to America decreased significantly.