Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is used to refer to the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony, for example by France to Devil's Island and by the United Kingdom (then including Ireland) to its colonies in The Americas, from the 1610s to American Revolution in the 1770s, and Australia between 1788 and 1868.
History
Transportation punished both major and petty crimes in Great Britain and Ireland from the 17th century until well into the 19th century. A sentence of transportation could apply for life or for a specific period of time. The penal system required the convicts to work, either on government projects such as road construction, building works and mining, or assigned to free individuals as a source of unpaid labour. Women were expected to work as domestic servants and farm labourers.
A convict who had served part of his time might apply for a ticket of leave permitting some prescribed freedoms. This enabled some convicts to resume a more normal life, to marry and raise a family, and a few to contribute to the further development of the colonies while removing them from the society. Exile was an essential component of the punishment and was thought to be a major deterrent. Transportation was at the time also seen as a more humane alternative to execution, which would most likely have been the sentence handed down to many of those who were transported, if transportation had not been introduced.
In British colonial India, freedom fighters were transported to the Cellular Jail in the Andaman islands.
British transportation to North America
North America was used for transportation of convicts from the early 17th century to the American Revolution of 1776. In 17th century, it was done on expense of the convicts or on expense of the shipowners. The first Transportation Act was introduced in 1718 and allowed courts to sentence convicts to seven years transportation to America. In 1720, extension authorized payments by state to the merchants who were contracted to take the convicts to America. Under the Transportation Act returning from transportation was a capital offence.[1][2]
The gaols became more overcrowded and dilapidated ships were brought into service, the 'hulks' moored in various ports as floating gaols. The actual number of convicts transported to North America is not verified although it has been estimated to be 50,000 by Dr. John Dunmore Lang. These were originally to New England, the majority of whom were prisoners taken in battle, from Ireland and Scotland. Some of these were subsequently sold as slaves to the Southern states.[3]
From the 1620s until the American Revolution the British colonies in North America received transported British criminals, effectively double the period that Australian colonies subsequently received convicts. The American Revolutionary War brought an end to that means of disposal, and with the remaining British colonies in what is now Canada being perilously close to the new United States of America, sending people who might easily become hostile to British authorities there was not an option. Thus, the British Government was forced to look elsewhere.
British transportation to Australia
In 1787, the "First Fleet" departed from England, to found the first colony in Australia, as a penal colony. The Fleet's arrival at Port Jackson, on January 26, 1788 (now Australia Day) is considered the founding event in the history of Sydney, as well as New South Wales and modern Australia in general. In 1803, Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) was also settled as a penal colony, followed by the Moreton Bay Settlement (Queensland) in 1824. The other Australian colonies were "free settlements", as non-convict colonies were known. However, Western Australia adopted transportation in 1851, to resolve a long-standing labour shortage. Until the massive influx of free immigrants during the Australian gold rushes of the 1850s, the settler population was dominated by convicts and their descendants.
Transportation from Britain ended officially in 1868, although it had become unusual several years earlier.
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See also
- Banishment
- Deportation
- Devil's Island
- Millbank Prison
- Australian history before 1901
- Convictism in Australia
- Australian penal colonies
References
- ^ "Punishments at the Old Bailey". Old Bailey Proceedings Online. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
- ^ R v Powell, Sixth session Proceedings of the Old Bailey 10th July, 1805 t18050710-23, page 401 (Old Bailey 1805-07-10).
- ^ Bound for America. The Transportation of British Convicts to the Colonies, 1718-1775 by A. Roger Ekirch.
- Pardons & Punishments: Judges Reports on Criminals, 1783 to 1830: HO (Home Office) 47 Volumes 304 and 305, List and Index Society, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey, TW9 4DU.