Penal colonies, Australia
Colonial America had been a destination for Britain's criminals for a while, but the American War of Independence in 1776
Forced Britain to think of new places to export its convicts to protect British society in the meantime
However, criminals were imprisoned domestically in Britain during hard labor in prisons poor in Chains from more prison ships known as hulks
Overcrowding of Prisons led the British Parliament to consider Australia as the place to send its convicts
they would establish New South Wales as a penal colony on land that had been claimed for Britain in 1770 the
Whole continent was intended to be colonized along these lines
Crimes during this time included pickpocketing stealing goods valued at five shillings or more
burglary
forging and rioting
Even pinching a handkerchief was deemed a transportable offence
The offer for offenders was exiled to a penal colony or death the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay New South Wales
Australia On January 20th 1788 carrying over 700 convicts as well as their families and over 500 Marines and
Officers the penal colony was then established at Port Jackson at Sydney Cove more penal colonies were established
Afterwards across Australia in the 19th century
Once the convicts arrived the governor separated and sorted them into gangs based on their skills
Skilled convicts such as carpenters blacksmiths and stonemasons could be used for government warts programs such as building roads bridges
courthouses hospitals or working on government farms
unskilled convicts would be assigned to laboring work such as gathering and burning seashells to create lime mortar on breaking rocks into gravel for the
construction projects
Free settlers people who had voluntarily settled in Australia and convicts that had done their time also picked such convicts
They wanted to work for them as servants
Women made up 15% of the convict population and were employed as domestic
Servants to the officers or worked in the female factories where they made clothes or did hard labor at the Washington
Many women married quickly as male free settlers were often looking for a wife
At first convicts wore their own clothing, but as more free settlers started to arrive
It was a necessity for a uniform to distinguish the innocent from convicts
From the early 1800s of parti-colored uniform was introduced
This yellow and black uniform resembled the costumes worn by court jesters in the medieval period which was designed to humiliate the convicts
The broad arrows showed that the clothing and the convict was government property
Discipline was harshly enforced by the military guards
flogging heavy ankle irons or chains the
treadmill and solitary confinement in dark dumb cells all
Served as punishments for prisoners who were lazy or unruly at their job
Convicts that continued to cause problems were sent to more remote penal colonies or prisons in Norfolk Island, Port Macquarie and Moreton Bay
For women punishments included having their head shaved or placed in solitary confinement
Convicts tried to escape but the wilderness of the Australian continent and starvation acted as a deterrent
the Aboriginal people had lived in Australia for
60,000 years before the arrival of Europeans desperate convict escapees took to stealing from them and many fights occurred
Prison time for convicts could range from seven years to life
convicts who worked hard would obtain a ticket of leave or a
Pardon, and these were frequently granted after four years for those with a seven-year sentence
Once they had a ticket of leave they could work for themselves at a known property
The types of pardon also determined whether they were allowed to stay in Australia or travel anywhere in the world
Few convicts actually returned to England because they couldn't afford the transportation back
From 1788 to 1868. It's estimated that around
165 thousand convicts were transported by the British government to various penal colonies in Australia
Subscribe and click the notification bell for more history videos