Bound for America : the transportation of British convicts to the colonies, 1718-1775

Type

Book

Authors

Ekirch, A. Roger

ISBN 10

0198200927

ISBN 13

9780198200925

LCCN

HV 8950 .E37

DDC

364.6

Tags

Penal colonies, Great Britain, History, 18th century, Maryland, Virginia, Criminal Justice, Administration, Linguistics, Botany, Criminology, Social Sciences, Louis A. Knafla, United Kingdom Crime and Punishment, Crime and punishment

Abstract

From 1718 to 1775, British courts banished 50,000 convicts to America--the largest body of immigrants, aside from African slaves, ever sent across the Atlantic--in hopes of restoring social peace at home without posing the threat to traditional freedoms raised by the death penalty or a harsh corrective system. Drawing upon archives in Britain and the United States, Bound for America examines the critical role this punishment played in Britain's criminal justice system. It also assesses the nature of the convict trade, the social origins of the transported felons, and the impact such a large criminal influx had on colonial society.

Description

Contents:
Part I: Justice -- Banishing vice -- Native sons -- The rough trade -- Part II: Penance -- Rites of passage -- Exiles in the promised land -- Trouble in the Chesapeake? -- Coming home.

Biblio Notes

Includes biographical references (pages [243]-261) and index.
Item has been generously donated by Louis A. Knafla.

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