Historical definition for the term “assignment” used within the context of convictism in Australia
Convict assignment was a system used in various penal colonies to assign the convicts to work for the state or private individuals. Assignment dates back in 1654 and continued during the rest of seventeenth century. Assignment was preferred to incarceration. Transportation was used to seed criminal reprieved from death penalty to work in the plantations. The abolitionist viewed the act of convict assignment as a form of slavery; this assertion was seconded by the historians. This paper explores the reasons be hide transportation of convicts, describes the term assignment in the context of convict Australia, it compares and contrasts the free workers in UK with the convict Australia. In Australia every colony had a system of convict assignment except the Western Australia
Transportation in Convict Australia
Transportation in Australia started during the seventeenth century, countries had various reasons for transporting their convicts, in America, transportation was used as a way of ensuring that the offenders in the society received punishment without having to put them to death and because Transportation to the North America was not possible due to the emergence of American Revolution in 1776, the government held the convicts in prisons, and as a result the prisons became overcrowded (Raymond and William 99). A new penal colony was developed to solve the crisis and on 13 May 1787 the first fleet set sail for Australia. London was overcrowded; unemployment was prevalent and was flooded with cheap alcohol. Due Poverty, child labor, social injustice and unhealthy living conditions crime rates increased in Britain in 19th century, as a result prisons became overcrowded, therefore transportation was chosen in order to solve the eminent crisis. Transportation was stopped in 1857, during the 80years in which people were transported to Australia a total of 160,023 men and women from Ireland, England and other parts of the Empire were transported (Raymond and William 100).
Description of “assignment” in the context of Transportation in Convict Australia
Assignment was a system of banishment; transportation provided an efficient way for government especially the British government to rid itself of criminals. On arrival convicts were assigned to work either providing labor for public works such as road making or were assigned to individuals for whom they would work. Though transportation was a form of punishment, this is in relation to Britons who viewed the goals as not enough for the offence done. the convicts who had important skills became highly sought-after, this gave the convicts an avenue to bargain for better conditions, this is because attempt were made to assign convict work which was related to what they had been doing before conviction. Transportation on the other hand condemned the convicts whose skills had limited use to be assigned as unskilled laborers or domestic servants.
Case examples of those assigned
States as well as individuals recognized the convicts previous occupations as propounded by (Stephen and Peter 3), hence a large proportion of the convicts were assigned the same occupation they had before conviction. for example, mustard (par. 1) William graham who was born in Longdales was convicted with the offence of manslaughter ,and was sentenced to transportation for life .after sentencing in February 1857,William propounded languished in the hulks for eighteen months awaiting transportation, some prisoners did not proceed further as they died there due to bad conditions and overcrowded prisons. Mustrad (16) William’s sentence indicated that he could be in receipt of ticket-of-leave. Ticket-of-leave was a system devised in order to maximize convicts labor, it was also evidence that a convict could work outside the assignment area, as well as report regularly to authorities and also the ticket holder had to attend divine worship each Sunday, the ticket also indicated a type of mercy that might be exercised to the offender on positive behavior change. On arrival in Australia William was assigned to work as a lime –burner then worked as a small farmer. William died out of a natural cause 1891.Mustrad ( par. 23)
Comparison of “assignment” to slavery in the US
Slavery refer to a system where individuals are treated as property that can be commercialized, and hence are forced to work, slaves can be captured and held against their will or purchased where they are deprived their rights to leave, refuse to work and are not also allowed to seek compensation. On the contrary, convict assignment refers to punishment through work as a result of crime committed.
Slavery in United States existed as legal institution, majority of the slaves worked on plantation and large farms, between 16th to 19th century 12 million slaves were shipped to America, as stated by (Meredith and Deborah) this can be compared to assignment in that the convict were shipped in different Empires to work either to the state or individuals. Just like the slaves in the US, the convicts were stripped of the freedom leave and refuse to work until they complete their sentence. Though the assigned convicts were criminals, the conditions in which they exposed to can only be compared to those of a slave for example the mode of their transportation which resulted to too many deaths just like that of the slaves, as stated by (Meredith and Oxley 19 ). The abolitionist denounced both cases as sinful and inhumane therefore they championed for their abolition; their activities bore fruit as in 1807, imports and exports of slaves was declared illegal and hence was abolished and the then slaves were allowed to own land and property. Similarly transportation of convicts for assignment was abolished in Australia in 1857, and resettlement of the convicts took cause, where they were also allowed to own land and property.
Comparison of conditions of free workers in the UK to convict workers in Australia
Northern and southern free workers were slaves who were not forced to work by being held in bondage, to the demerit of their freedom they had no right to own land, thus they were forced to seek employment to ensure their survival. This implies that their bondage was as result of poverty; hence it was poverty that committed them to be held in servitude. Similarly, assigned convicts were held bondage and treated as slaves, not because they were slaves but was a form of paying for their crimes. Secondly, both the free workers in UK and the assigned convicts were exposed to hush condition as they were being held as well as being transported to their various destinations, for example, Hoffman (6) states that human cargo were tormented by unhealed wounds, overcrowded dark dungeons, stench, diseases and death. Similarly, many assigned convicts never reached their destination as they died due to bad conditions and overcrowded hulks.
Thirdly, both the worker in the UK and the assigned convicts were vulnerable to abuse by their assigned individual or employees, for example the fact that free workers were not entitled to own land, meant that they were directly depended on the naives for their survival, even though they were manipulated and offered unreasonable terms the free workers had no choice, this was due to the fact that the poor had no political rights as the wealthy elites were so influential as they demanded for introduction of laws that protect their selfish ends, this implies that the landowners and manufacturers amerced their wealth due to readily available cheap labor from the free workers. Accordingly, the assigned convicts were not entitled to own any property and were obliged to pay for their crimes, hard forced work, though on finishing their sentence, they were resettled and allowed to own property, and in 1854 some were transported back to their home countries.
Conclusion
Assignment of convicts’ workers was viewed as a way of getting rid of the death penalty, therefore punishing the convicts without necessarily putting them to death, assignment of convicts is more of death sentence, since most of the convicts died before they reached their assigned destinations as depicted earlier. Accordingly assignment helped to solve the crisis of overcrowded rehabilitation facilities, and even if though assigned convicts were criminal, their crimes were rather minor for example in by the 1820’s in Britain the 222 crimes carried a death penalty most of crimes included offences of stealing of goods worth over five shillings and under the bloody code law over 90% of those hanged were less than 21 years. Accordingly, these cases do not justify assignment. Some states like the British thought that containing the convicts in goals and prisons was not enough punishment for the crimes committed hence opted for convicts” transportation. Assignment not only led to the frequent very miserable condition of the convict slave but also, to the separation of the convict from his or her family. And those who were lucky enough to complete their sentences were resettled in these countries hence never to see their families again. On the other hand assignment led to increased wealth due to the provision of readily available labor which was both skilled and unskilled. Hoffman and Dulles clearly show that though assignment was designed to punish convicts had difference with slavery.
Works cited
Meredith and D. Oxley, ‘Condemned to the colonies. Penal Transportation as the Solution to Britain’s Law and Order Problem’, Leidschrift, 22/1 (2007), 19-39.
Stephen Nicholas and Peter R. Shergold, ‘Unshackling the Past’ in Stephen Nicholas (ed.) Convict Workers: Reinterpreting Australia’s Past (Cambridge, 1988), pp.3-13
Micheal A. Hoffman, ’they were white and they were slaves: ’The untold stories of the enslavements of the white in the early America’ (2011), pp 6-13.
Raymond Evans and William Thorpe, ‘Power, Punishment and Penal Labour, Convict Workers and Moreton Bay’, Australian Historical Studies, 25, 98 (1992), pp. 90-111.
Mustrad, “Glimpse in the 19th century broadside ballard trade: poaching and transportation-the case of William Graham. “ Mustrad .N.P.’13 Nov.2006. web. 20 Apr. 2012. <http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/bbals_24.htm>.
Quality Work
Unlimited Revisions
Affordable Pricing
24/7 Support
Fast Delivery