Convict Guide - published 2006 - Manual / Resource - Page 14
Guide to New South Wales State archives relating to convicts and convict administration
Transportation
Transportation Act
The practice of banishing undesirables had a long history in England,
but it was not organised as a definite system until the Transportation
Act 1717 which made transportation an alternative punishment to death
in certain circumstances, and a punishment in its own right for some
offences. (Gillen, Founders of Australia, p.xvi, Shaw, Convicts and the
Colonies, pp.21-37). Prisoners sentenced to transportation were
'committed under bond to ship masters, who were responsible for the
safe journey of the prisoner and could dispose of their services in the
colonies (of America) as they thought fit'. (Australian Encyclopaedia, 4th
ed., vol. 3, p.46).
Use of transportation
increased
During the 18th century the number of convicts transported to the
American colonies increased. Poverty in England was exacerbated by
the industrial and agrarian revolutions, increasing population,
urbanisation, and cheap gin. (Gillen, Founders of Australia, p.xvii). The
penal code, riddled with inconsistencies, was primarily intended to
protect property, and the number of offences punishable by execution
and transportation increased. There was also a growth in the number of
prisoners reprieved from the death penalty and transported by
executive action. (Australian Encyclopaedia, 4th ed., vol. 3, p.46).
Transportation to
America ceased
Following the outbreak of the War of Independence in 1775 the
American colonists ceased accepting convicts. Initially the British
government expected to win thus making it possible for convict
transportation to be resumed. In the meantime gaols, meant for shortterm imprisonment only, quickly became overcrowded. A temporary
answer was the Hulks Act (1776) under which prisoners were employed
on river works and naval dockyards, and housed in disused ships until
they had completed their sentences or could be sent overseas. (Shaw,
Convicts and the Colonies, pp.43-6, Gillen, Founders of Australia, p.xxi).
Other alternatives were also considered. One idea was to construct
penitentiaries, allowing convicts to be housed and reformed in England;
another was to find alternative outlets overseas. Nothing, however,
eventuated. No other British colony would take convicts, no suitable site
was found elsewhere and penitentiaries were considered too costly. To
make matters worse the American colonists were victorious and refused
to allow convict transportation to be revived after 1783.
The number of prisoners in Britain continued to increase, creating
overcrowding in prisons and hulks and raising fears of disease and
escapes. Transportation overseas, still considered the best solution to
this problem, was cheap and acted as a deterrent to potential criminals.
It removed criminals from Britain and provided them with new
opportunities in a fresh environment. It also provided a labour force that
could open up and develop new settlements.
Botany Bay
Attention was turned to Botany Bay, which had been considered as a
possible outlet for convicts during the early 1780s. In 1786 the British
government decided to make use of this region. Historians disagree as
to whether convicts provided the sole, or even the main motive and a
considerable literature now exists on this subject. (Frost, Convicts and
Empire, Gillen, Botany Bay Decision, Mackay, A Place of Exiles, Martin,
Founding of Australia). It is clear, however, that the overcrowded state
of the gaols was a powerful incentive and the region had long been
mooted as an outlet for convicts.
State Records Authority of New South Wales
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