Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. Knowing the volatile nature of their cargo, captains of convict ships were careful not to allow convicts much freedom during their voyage to America for fear they could take over the ship. Still, insurrection did occur. In 1751, The Virginia [...]
Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. When dealing with bureaucratic institutions in the eighteenth century, money artfully placed in the right hands could often buy special privileges, and convict transportation was no exception. The sale of convicts once they arrived in America helped convict merchants and [...]
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 [...]
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 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 [...]
Thursday, February 12, 2009 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 [...]
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 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 [...]
Wednesday, January 28, 2009 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. [...]
Thursday, January 22, 2009 Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. Convict transportation was conceived as a relatively easy means of emptying British prisons and punishing repeat petty criminals without having to resort to a death sentence. Most convicted criminals facing potential execution were probably relieved to receive a reprieve from [...]
Thursday, January 15, 2009 Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. Convicted criminals who were tried at the Old Bailey in London and received a sentence of transportation began their journey to the American colonies in the notorious Newgate Prison. Like those sentenced to transportation at other prisons, they waited for [...]
Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. Popular characterizations of early immigration to America give the impression that most of the people who made the trip across the Atlantic either belonged to religious groups looking for a place where they could freely practice their beliefs, such as [...]
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