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Category Archives: Convict Transportation

Convict Voyages: Diet and Health

Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. Even though external threats, such as bad weather and pirates, could seriously jeopardize convict voyages across the Atlantic, the most persistent sources of agony for convicts were internal to the ship. Transported felons received poor and scanty provisions throughout their […]

Convict Voyages: Traveling to America in Chains

Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. Convict ships heading directly to America after leaving London would have traveled down the Thames on the ebb current and then anchored at Dover, Cowes, or the Downs to wait for favorable winds to take them out to sea. Some […]

Convict Voyages: The Convict Ship

Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. Once the convicts were loaded onto the convict ship, the captain, the jailor, and certain witnesses would sign a transportation bond ensuring that the convicts being transported were safely aboard the ship. These documents were then delivered to the Treasury […]

Convict Voyages: From Prison to Convict Ship

Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. Once the convict merchant was ready to make the trip to America, the convicts were released from prison and loaded onto the ship, along with dry goods and perhaps a few indentured servants. Convict voyages were generally timed to leave […]

Convict Voyages: Mary Standford, Pick-Pocket and Thief

Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. Mary Standford was convicted of privately stealing a shagreen pocket book, a silk handkerchief, and 4 guineas from William Smith on July 11, 1726. After her conviction, she strongly rejected transportation to the American colonies as an alternative to execution. […]