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Tag Archives: Convict Transportation

Early American Criminals: Joseph Cooper and Philadelphia’s Lime and Onion Burglar

In May 1744, Elizabeth Robinson was sentenced at the Old Bailey in London to transportation to the American colonies for her involvement in the theft of 104 China oranges from a warehouse. She was loaded onto the Justitia that same month and eventually landed in Virginia. She ended up in Maryland, where she reportedly continued […]

Convict Transportation to America: Epilogue

Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. Almost as soon as British convict transportation to America ended, Americans began to downplay the numbers and significance of convicts sent to the colonies. In 1786, Thomas Jefferson led the way by claiming, The Malefactors sent to America were not […]

The End of Convict Transportation: One Last Gasp and the Australian Solution

Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. The American Revolution brought an abrupt end to the British practice of transporting convicts to America. Back in England, the supposedly temporary solution of housing convicts on prison hulks in the River Thames to relieve prison overcrowding only had a […]

The End of Convict Transportation: Convict Hulks

Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. The American Revolution ended the British practice of transporting convicts to the American colonies and threw Great Britain’s criminal justice system into chaos. With no place to send its convicted felons, and without a back-up plan in place, England suddenly […]

The End of Convict Transportation: Closing Stages

Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. Beginning in 1770, English courts handed out fewer transportation sentences to its convicted felons. The growing unease in the American colonies over British rule and its use as a destination for convicts probably had something to do with this trend. […]