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Tag Archives: Virginia

The Business of Convict Transportation: The First Contractor for Transports to the Government

Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. Jonathan Forward, after being appointed “Contractor for Transports to the Government,” ran his new business out of his house on Fenchurch Street in Cheapside. He now deployed his fleet of slave and merchant ships–many of which he named after himself–to […]

The Business of Convict Transportation: Maryland and Virginia

Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. If transported British convicts weren’t sent to Georgia, then where did they go? The vast majority of transported convicts were sent to Maryland and Virginia, with the remaining few going to Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and the West Indies. Between 1718 […]

The Need for a New Punishment: Early Uses of Convict Transportation

Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. Before 1718, England’s criminal justice system provided only two sentencing options for criminals convicted of capital crimes: “Benefit of Clergy” for first-time offenders, which sent criminals back out on the streets after receiving some form of corporal punishment, or death. […]