Crime and Punishment / 1600s
Crime and Punishment: Transportation to North America
Transportation sent criminals overseas, combining deterrence, forced labour, and removal from English society.
What To Remember
- James I introduced transportation to English colonies in North America in the early 17th century.
- Sentences were often seven years for lesser crimes or fourteen years when transportation replaced execution.
- Authorities liked transportation because it removed criminals, supplied colonial labour, and avoided relying on ineffective prisons.
The punishment
Transported prisoners were taken in chains across the Atlantic to English colonies on the east coast of North America.
They were forced into hard manual labour, such as clearing trees, farm work, or other work needed by settlers.
Those transported instead of being executed were usually sentenced to fourteen years; lesser offenders were often sentenced to seven.
Why authorities used it
England did not have an effective prison system, and execution was not always seen as suitable for every offender.
Transportation removed criminals from England, supplied labour for colonies, and looked frightening enough to deter others.
James I even allowed vagrant children in London to be arrested and sent away, showing harsh attitudes to poverty and homelessness.
Effectiveness
Transportation was less final than execution but still severe because convicts were separated from family and community.
Many never returned even after their sentence ended because they could not afford the voyage home.
For GCSE comparison, transportation sits between the Bloody Code and prison: it punished, deterred, and removed offenders, but also claimed to offer a chance of reform.
Revision Prompt
Why did the authorities think transportation could help control crime?