Convicts
1770: In Britain 222 crimes carried the death penalty. Most criminals were caught by their victims and taken to a local court.
The industrial revolution 1760-1830 led to an increase in crime. Overcrowded gaols. Overcrowded cities. Child labour. Slums. Poverty. Jobs with long hours.
The judiciary considered transportation more human than a crowded floating prison or hanging.
50-100,0000 convicts were transported to North America.
1783: The American War of Independence (1775-1783) meant Britain needed an alternative place for transportation.
1788: The first fleet arrives in Botany Bay in January. Contained 1,000-1,500 convicts, military and free settlers.
1803: British begin a new penal colony in Van Diemens Land (VDL).
1803-1853: 72,000 convicts transported to VDL.
60,000 males. 23% males marry.
12,000 women. 70% females marry.
Most convicts were transported for theft. Serious crimes such as rape or murder led to hanging.
Most from Britain or Ireland. A few from other British colonies.
When convicts arrive in Hobart:
Males to Campbell St Gaol. Assigned to private individuals and public works.
Females to Cascade Female Factory.
Female convicts. Most for theft. Prostitution was not a transportable offence.
A few political convicts: Irish and Scottish rebels. Tolpuddle Martyrs, Luddites, Canadian rebels.
Majority of convicts were British men transported for theft having no descendants. They live on in the buildings they built.
Britain at war: less convicts.
Britain at peace: demobilization, unemployment increased convicts.
Convicts: were they sinners or sinned against?
Historians argue about this. Were they lazy unskilled urban thieves? Or did they possess skills which were broadly representative of those possessed by the British and Irish working classes.
The skills of the convicts were deployed by the Colonial State with little use of lash or punishment. The labour of convicts catalysed the growth of the colonies.
The system of pardoning or freeing convicts changed over time.
After emancipation most stayed in Australia. The ex-convicts varied. There was a social stigma. Some were very successful in all areas of society. Some were found guilty of criminal behaviour and were hung.
1820: Macquarie Harbour penal settlement begins. To punish convicts who offend.
1830: Port Arthur begins. Replaces Macquarie Harbour.
1850: Most old sandstone buildings (pre 1850) around Tasmania were built with convict labour.
1850: Population of VDL 69,000.
1850: Transportation to NSW ends.
1850: Anti-Transportation Movement becomes popular in VDL.
Newspapers argue against transportation. Competition to free labourers. Source of crime and vice. Transportation was abhorred because of the stigma of convicts. Transportation was not opposed because it was inhuman.
1853: End of transportation to VDL. The final ship (St Vincent) greeted by festivals and cheering crowds.
Today’s estimate:
20% of Australians have convict ancestors.
74% of Tasmanians have convict ancestors.
There is no evidence that convicts had a genetic tendency towards crime and that this has been passed down.
The industrial revolution 1760-1830 led to an increase in crime. Overcrowded gaols. Overcrowded cities. Child labour. Slums. Poverty. Jobs with long hours.
The judiciary considered transportation more human than a crowded floating prison or hanging.
50-100,0000 convicts were transported to North America.
1783: The American War of Independence (1775-1783) meant Britain needed an alternative place for transportation.
1788: The first fleet arrives in Botany Bay in January. Contained 1,000-1,500 convicts, military and free settlers.
1803: British begin a new penal colony in Van Diemens Land (VDL).
1803-1853: 72,000 convicts transported to VDL.
60,000 males. 23% males marry.
12,000 women. 70% females marry.
Most convicts were transported for theft. Serious crimes such as rape or murder led to hanging.
Most from Britain or Ireland. A few from other British colonies.
When convicts arrive in Hobart:
Males to Campbell St Gaol. Assigned to private individuals and public works.
Females to Cascade Female Factory.
Female convicts. Most for theft. Prostitution was not a transportable offence.
A few political convicts: Irish and Scottish rebels. Tolpuddle Martyrs, Luddites, Canadian rebels.
Majority of convicts were British men transported for theft having no descendants. They live on in the buildings they built.
Britain at war: less convicts.
Britain at peace: demobilization, unemployment increased convicts.
Convicts: were they sinners or sinned against?
Historians argue about this. Were they lazy unskilled urban thieves? Or did they possess skills which were broadly representative of those possessed by the British and Irish working classes.
The skills of the convicts were deployed by the Colonial State with little use of lash or punishment. The labour of convicts catalysed the growth of the colonies.
The system of pardoning or freeing convicts changed over time.
After emancipation most stayed in Australia. The ex-convicts varied. There was a social stigma. Some were very successful in all areas of society. Some were found guilty of criminal behaviour and were hung.
1820: Macquarie Harbour penal settlement begins. To punish convicts who offend.
1830: Port Arthur begins. Replaces Macquarie Harbour.
1850: Most old sandstone buildings (pre 1850) around Tasmania were built with convict labour.
1850: Population of VDL 69,000.
1850: Transportation to NSW ends.
1850: Anti-Transportation Movement becomes popular in VDL.
Newspapers argue against transportation. Competition to free labourers. Source of crime and vice. Transportation was abhorred because of the stigma of convicts. Transportation was not opposed because it was inhuman.
1853: End of transportation to VDL. The final ship (St Vincent) greeted by festivals and cheering crowds.
Today’s estimate:
20% of Australians have convict ancestors.
74% of Tasmanians have convict ancestors.
There is no evidence that convicts had a genetic tendency towards crime and that this has been passed down.