Crime and Punishment / 1780s-1868
Crime and Punishment: Transportation to Australia
After Britain lost America, Australia became the main destination for transported convicts.
What To Remember
- After the American War of Independence, Britain needed a new destination for transported convicts and turned to Australia.
- About 160000 convicts were transported to Australia, many for theft and other property crimes.
- Transportation was meant to deter, remove offenders, and support colonisation, but it became expensive and controversial.
Why Australia
Britain had transported convicts to America, but this stopped after American independence.
The First Fleet arrived in Australia in 1788, creating a new penal colony.
Transportation removed offenders from Britain and was seen as a less bloody alternative to execution.
Life and sentences
Common sentences were 7 years, 14 years, or life, and the voyage itself was long and frightening.
Convicts were used as labourers, servants, and builders in the growing colony.
Good behaviour could lead to a ticket of leave, allowing a convict to work for wages and live with more freedom.
Why it ended
By the 1830s, transportation cost about 500000 pounds a year.
Some critics thought it was not harsh enough because convicts could build new lives in Australia.
Australian settlers objected to the system, and transportation finally ended in 1868.
Revision Prompt
Was transportation mainly a punishment, a deterrent, or a way to build empire?