Life Courses of Young Convicts Transported to Van Diemen's Land

Download or read book Life Courses of Young Convicts Transported to Van Diemen's Land written by Emma D. Watkins and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-02-06 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on digital criminal records, this book traces the life courses of young convicts who were sentenced at the Old Bailey and transported to Van Diemen's Land in the early 19th century. It explores the everyday lives of the convicts pre- and post-transportation, focusing on their crimes, punishments, education, employment and family life right up to their deaths. Emma D. Watkins contextualizes these young convicts within the punishment system, economy and culture that they were thrust into by their forced movement to Australia. This allows an understanding of the factors which determined their chances of achieving a 'settled life' away from crime in the colony. Packed with case studies offering vivid accounts of the offenders' lives, Life Courses of Young Convicts Transported to Van Diemen's Land makes an important contribution to the history of transportation, social history and Australian history.