Why Was Transportation Abolished?

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Why was transportation abolished? Transportation was introduced in 1678 by the government as an alternative to hanging. It was to be the answer to the problem of crime through sending criminals to the West Indies and America, more precisely Maryland and the colonies of Virginia. The convictions would range from three years to life, but more often would be between seven to 14 years. The only exception to this was those who were convicted with certain 'benefit of clergy', the transportation statue of 1717, meaning anyone who were connected with the church could be convicted for up to seven years even with crimes that non-clergy members could get 14 years for. In 1776 the Americans declared independence which meant great disaster for Britain as they couldn't cope with the sudden ending of transportation to America which became a major cause in the prison reform movement. Britain turned to Australia as a back up and alternative "dumping ground" and claimed it in the name of the English crown. Convicts would be sent on the four to six month journey to Australia on hulk ships. Before its abolition, over 165,000 people were transported an average of 4,000 people a year. They would be restrained with shackled and chained together in groups of eight, known as 'messes'. If badly behaved the convicts would be 'boxed'. An area so small they couldn't move where they would stay for many hours. Many convicts died on the journey. Between August 1776 and march 1778, on quarter of prisoners died from the unsanitary conditions on board. The 1840's however, brought on improvements by Jeremy Bentham lowering the deaths on the hulks partially. Starting in the 1830's convicts could be sold upon arrival to settlers as workers or sent to barracks. Those who lived with settlers lived reasonably well whereas those in barracks were treated incredibly brutally. Skilled convicts

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