Exploring Maryland's Roots: Adding It Up: Help

Adding It Up
http://mdroots.thinkport.org/interactives/addingitup/

Listen to help audio

What would you take with you if you were planning a trip across the ocean to start a new life? How much would it cost? That's exactly what 17th century explorers needed to figure out.

Some people turned to a pamphlet to find answers to these questions. The pamphlet was called A Relation of the Successefull beginnings of the Lord Baltemore's Plantation in Mary-land. The pamphlet told about the benefits of settling in the Chesapeake area. It also outlined the supplies each colonist would need for their first year in the colony. You can think of it as an early travel brochure.

Many people who wanted to travel to Maryland couldn't afford the trip. They started their voyage as indentured servants. A wealthy "gentleman adventurer" paid for their journey. In exchange, indentured servants agreed to work for several years for their gentleman adventurer. At the end of an indenture, servants would get their freedom and some land. The gentlemen adventurers also earned 2000 acres of land for every five servants they brought to the new colony.

This arrangement had benefits for everyone. Wealthy people could build their fortunes. Poorer people could look forward to a time when they might be able to do the same.

Take a close look at this piece of history to learn more about what it took to start out fresh in Maryland's first colony.

How to Use Adding It Up

On the left (pamphlet), items are highlighted in green.
This is activated by rolling over bold text on the right.

Adding It Up breaks the pamphlet into eight different sections. First, choose a section from the bold words at the top of the screen. You will see the main screen divided into two parts. On the left, you will see the 17th century pamphlet. It looks the same as it did in the 1630s, with funny spelling and words you might not know. On the right part of the screen, you'll see words and sentences in bold, brown, and red. Move your mouse over bold sentences to see what to look at. Click the links in brown to learn more on this site. Click the red links to figure things out using a different site. (Note: red links open a new browser window. Just close them to return to Adding It Up.

Adding It Up (Total Section)
Calculating how much for one individual
(user input in text boxes)