Masarykova univerzita Filozofická fakulta Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky Bakalářská diplomová práce 2013 Alice Giles Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Alice Giles The Essential Plight of Female Convicts in Establishing Overseas Colonies in the British Empire Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: PhDr. Jitka Vlčková, Ph. D. 2013 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature Acknowledgement I would like to thank my supervisor PhDr. Jitka Vlčková, my fellow students and my family for their support and guidance. Table of Contents 1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 2 Living Conditions on British Isles During the 18th and 19th Centuries ........ 4 2.1 Life of British Women ............................................................................ 6 2.2 Fallen Women and Disorderly Girls ....................................................... 8 3 Old Bailey and Newgate Gaol ...................................................................... 12 4 Transportation ............................................................................................... 18 5 Voyage to Australia ...................................................................................... 22 6 Arrival to Australia ....................................................................................... 27 6.1 Life Under “The System” ...................................................................... 29 6.2 Female Factories ................................................................................... 32 7 Freedom ........................................................................................................ 39 8 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 43 9 Resume - English .......................................................................................... 50 10 Resume – Česky ........................................................................................... 51 1 Introduction The aim of this thesis is to research and investigate the plight of British female convicts during the second half of the eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth century when colonial business with convicts flourished. In order to see the whole problem accurately, it is important to consider all aspects, including the lives of British working class women as yet non-convicts, politics, class and the social situation in the British Isles at that time and also to some extent, a comparison to the male section of society. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the British government had to deal with a growing number of criminals and thus, sending them overseas for long-term servitude seemed to work until the necessity and also opportunity of establishing a new colony on the other side of the hemisphere, in Australia, took over. In addition, as in almost all kinds of societies and cultures, the women played an important role in the future of the colony, despite that fact that most of them were seen by others as prostitutes and “damned whores” for whom there was no pity. It is not the intention of this paper to analyse the life of male convicts since it would require much greater research and extend the scope of the work beyond the defined focus, however, there are occurrences of some comparisons between the female and male convicts within the text when needed. Also, regarding the servitude and punishment, special interest is paid to Australia which was arguably the most appalling. Other British colonies are mentioned only peripherally. The work is divided into four parts. The first part focuses on the situation and circumstances on the British Isles during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, class distinction and overall factors which led to miserable conditions for women in British 1 society who in many cases found themselves in a hopeless state of affairs that they tried to solve by various means, usually in the form of petty crime. This part should answer the question, “why and how so many British women got into trouble leading to a criminal path?” The second part focuses on their life after being caught committing a crime. They were no longer free, and thus under the system which determined their future life. This paper deals with their situation in prison, how cases were handled in front of a Judge in a court and finally, on the work of a great prison reformer Mrs. Elizabeth Fry who had changed lives of many female convicts for the better. The third part focuses on the various attempts to establish business with the convicts and the ultimate decision to colonise Australia. It focuses on the reasons why the British women were so important in the plans of the British Government and the Crown. The fourth part is dedicated to the life of female convicts after their trial at the court and their sojourn in prison which was followed by the voyage to Australia. The work further focuses on living conditions in a strange land, the forced servitude and exploitation of female convicts who were outnumbered by men by one to nine from the early years of the colony in New South Wales to the end of transportation of convicts in 1856 owing to the abolition of transportation. Since the time I read the first article about the convicts and their roles in establishing the nation of Australia, this problem became a great interest of mine, especially when I found out that there was a widely held, biased opinion on the character and personality of the founding Mothers of Australia. There were many sources which I explored, among them The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes which gave me an overall picture of the situation on the British Isles during the eighteenth and 2 nineteenth centuries, the voyage to Australia and the years on its land before the abolition of transportation. The Old Bailey Online website provided me with detailed information about particular proceedings, trials and punishments. Sian Rees with her book The Floating Brothel and Deborah J. Swiss with her book The Tin Ticket helped me to understand and see that there was only a fine line for young British women or girls between being free or arrested. The Tin Ticket in particular brought a meticulous description of the “Newgate Angel”, Mrs. Elizabeth Fry, who helped to make the ordeal tolerable for many female convicts. Thanks to the plentiful amount of Australian research websites such as Convict Trail Project, Convict Female Research Association, Parramatta Female Factory Precinct Association and The Female Convicts Research Centre I could learn more about life in captivity and servitude in the land of Australia. 3 2 Living Conditions on British Isles During the 18th and 19th Centuries In order to explore and analyse all the reasons which led to high criminality among British women during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it is necessary to include all aspects including the social and political climate in the British Isles during that period. Despite the nostalgia for Georgian England, its architecture, paintings, fashion, beautiful gardens and portraits of stylish and elegant families which extol contentment and happiness, for working class people the British Isles during the Georgian reign was not a desirable place to live. Hughes in his book Fatal Shore claims that England in particular was full of controversy. While the minority of upper class people lived in luxury displaying their pomposity with lively and opulent balls in their mansions, the majority of British people lived on the verge of starvation (20). Unable to feed themselves or their children, working class people fought for their survival from one day to another. As a consequence; dirt, disease, the abundance of cheap alcohol and a high level of criminality lead to everyday problems and a solution was not in sight. Accordingly, the poor, in their desperation resorted to various types of crime, from petty theft to felony, and gin provided them with solace in their exhaustion. Made in England, “this white grain spirit flavored with crushed juniper berries became England's national stupefaction, the heroin of the eighteenth century” (Hughes 23). It was a quick and cheap way to ease the body and mind with little knowledge of its consequences. Not surprisingly, because of this erratic and unpredictable behaviour of poor people owing to their despair and wretchedness, the aristocracy and upper classes gradually grew more anxious and uneasy with the rise of this misery. “The general perception among the upper and middle echelons of society was that crime was caused 4 by laziness, sloth and general abandonment. Low wages, unemployment and need were not considerate to be motivating factors” (Christopher 10). The harder the times were, the harder were the prosecutions with the weak attempt to wipe out the “criminal class” by which the English meant “a distinct social group 'produced' crime, as hatters produced hats or miners coal” (Hughes 165). Moreover, it was also widely believed that “crime was a class problem, with an entire criminal class terrorising their more virtuous compatriots” (Christopher 10). So, the lower the people were on the ladder of prosperity, the more they were considered as the scum of society with a high potential of committing a crime. The situation