Life of a European Explorer

1. Starvation

1.1. Food Quality: The food quality aboard the ships was terrible. Sailors only consumed 3,00 calories a day. They got that from dried ageing meat, lots of beer, hard biscuts, and beans. Sailors lacked vitamin C and lost their lives to Scurvy. If that wasn't enough, the food was kept in the belly of the ship where it could rot.

1.2. Food Quantity: Most ships did not have enough food supply for their whole crew. Everything was served in small portions and sailors went without food when there was none left.

2. Sickness

2.1. Cleanliness: Most sailors only got one pair of clothing for the whole journey. The clothing was rarley washed. Sailors thought that the dirt and grime would protect them from wind and rain.

2.2. Disease: Scurvy was one of the most known diseases to sailors. It's a disease cause by not having enough vitamin C. Most ships lost 50% of their crew to scurvy alone.

2.3. Daily Condition: In the belly of the ship where the sailors lived, it was cold, damp, and wet. If the food, and the back breaking work they put in didn't where them down, the weather and sleeping conditions sure did.

3. Time and Money

3.1. Amount Paid: Sailors could work on a ship at the youngest age of 7. Sailors is what kept the ships going and were only paid less than 10 dollars a month in today's money.

3.2. Time of the Trip: Ships of the time only covered 100 miles a day. That meant long journey's lasted years and drove people crazy.