Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Convicts at Woolwich

Beginning in 1717, the British Crown codified the expulsion of criminals to America. This official banishment sent tens of thousands of convict servants to America, serving a minimum sentence of seven years. The Chesapeake was the primary destination for these convict servants, and especially the colony of Maryland. This may account for the title of a previously examined piece: The Sailors Adventure to the Streights of Merry-Land.

With the coming of the Revolutionary War, convict servants could no longer be sent to America. According to Anthony Vaver at the Early American Crime blog, Robert Eden came up with a stop-gap solution. The convicts would be put to work building a docks, an arsenal, and dredging the river at Woolwich. England's ne'er-do-wells would be housed aboard the prison hulks Justitia and Censor

The War lasted longer than England had anticipated, and not in their favor. Rather than send the convicts on to America as planned, they were instead sent to settle Australia.

Below is a collection of images that will be posted largely without comment, as they do not portray common sailors in their slop clothes. These images are taken from a few different sources and depict the journey to Woolwich and the labor conducted there. Many sailors occupied the same step on the social ladder as these unfortunates, and those serving in the Royal Navy during the American War of Independence benefited from their labors.

Don't forget: you can click on an image to expand it.


"The Convicts taking Water near Black Friars Bridge, in order for being conveyed to Woolwich," engraved by Pollard, from New Newgate Calendar or Malefactor's Register, 1777, The Maritime Gallery.


"The Convicts taking Water near Black Friars Bridge, in order for being conveyed to Woolwich," engraved by Pollard, from New Newgate Calendar or Malefactor's Register, 1777, Internet Archive.


"Prespective View of the Convict's at Work on the Thames, Drawn May the 8th 1777 from the Butt at Woolwich," from the London Magazine, artist unknown, 1777, National Library of Australia.


"Prespective View of the Convict's at Work on the Thames, Drawn May the 8th 1777 from the Butt at Woolwich," from the London Magazine, artist unknown, 1777, Hathi Trust.


"View of the Justitia Hulk, with the Convicts at Work, near Woolwich," engraved by Pollard, from New Newgate Calendar or Malefactor's Register, 1777, National Maritime Museum.


"View of the Justitia Hulk, with the Convicts at Work, near Woolwich," engraved by Pollard, from New Newgate Calendar or Malefactor's Register, 1777, Internet Archive.

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