Wednesday, September 30, 2009
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 [...]
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
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 [...]
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
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 [...]
Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies.
That the British policy of transporting convicts to America was not well received by colonists should come as no surprise to anyone. American colonists complained that Britain was using their land as a dumping ground for their undesirables in the [...]
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
In order to settle a debate with her boss, Rebecca, a self-described “curious technical writer,” asked Early American Crime, “Were American pickpockets executed in the 1700’s and 1800’s? I know Britain was big on this, but how about America?”
As far as I can tell, pickpockets were not executed in America as they were in [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies.
With the passage of the Transportation Act in 1718, Britain became the only European country after 1700 to transport convicts as part of a major governmental policy. The sentence of transportation was popular among judges and quickly became the preferred [...]
Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies.
As stories of crime and criminals captured the attention of the eighteenth-century reading public and English jails continued to fill beyond capacity, the need to find a new form of institutionalized punishment grew. Citing the fact that current punishments had [...]
