E-Book Overview
This is the first major study of the convict in the Atlantic world of the eighteenth century. It concentrates on the diverse characters of the transported men, women and children, and their fate in the colonies, exploring at the local level the contrasts in sentencing, shipping and settlement of convicts in America. The central myths about transportation prevalent in the eighteenth century, particularly that most felons returned, are examined in the context of the burgeoning print culture of criminal biographies and newspaper stories. In addition, the exchange of representations between the two sides of the Atlantic, and the changing American reaction to convicts, are placed within the growing transatlantic debate on transportation before the American Revolution. Above all, the realities of escape, of convicts running away and returning to England, are subject to systematic investigation for the first time.
E-Book Content
Eighteenth-Century Criminal Transportation The Formation of the Criminal Atlantic
Gwenda Morgan and Peter Rushton
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Eighteenth-Century Criminal Transportation
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Eighteenth-Century Criminal Transportation: The Formation of the Criminal Atlantic Gwenda Morgan and Peter Rushton
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© Gwenda Morgan and Peter Rushton 2004 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2004 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 0–333–79338–2 hardback This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Morgan, Gwenda. Eighteenth-century criminal transportation : the formation of the criminal Atlantic / Gwenda Morgan and Peter Rushton. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and Index. ISBN 0–333–79338–2 (cloth) 1. Penal colonies—Great Britain—Colonies. 2. Penal colonies— Maryland. 3. Penal colonies—Virginia. I. Rushton, Peter. II. Title. HV8949.M67 2004 365¢.34—dc22 2003060044 10 13
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Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham and Eastbourne
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For Gareth and Lesley
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