Once the transportation statute was introduced, the way was opened for British government to ship out their theives & villains. It was time to work on a plan to get rid of them altogether. Europeans had just settled in America and the boldest idea was to send the convicts there to help clear-out England's over-crowding jails. Convicts would be put to work in all types of professions and would help the new European colonists become firmly established in the USA.
In practise, the American settlers paid the passage fees to the contractors and had to feed and clothe their prisoner but from then on it was all profit. No wages to pay and convicts were worked hard. Criminals of all ages, race, colour & creed were put to work all across populated America.
Skippers from all over the world applied to the government to effect the transportation of the convicts, charging the fare of the convict to the government. Once a convict was on board, the skipper was free to sell the prisoner as a slave upon arrival in America if he wished.
The following table shows the average price the master could expect to receive for his cargo on just one trip.
| Prices (£ sterling) |
Male convicts |
Female convicts |
| 3-4 |
9 |
1 |
| 5-6 |
6 |
8 |
| 7-8 |
23 |
24 |
| 9-10 |
31 |
67 |
| 11-12 |
117 |
- - |
| 13-14 |
78 |
- - |
| 15-16 |
36 |
- - |
| 17-18 |
17 |
- - |
| 19-20 |
11 |
- - |
| 21-22 |
3 |
- - |
| 23-24 |
2 |
- - |
| 25+ |
5 |
- - |
Transportation in this form continued until, just under 60 years later, the American colonies decided that they didn't want any more criminals shipped in. Proud citizens who had worked hard telling the convicts what to do decided that they did not want to be known as the colony built by convicts. They revolted and started the road to independence from Britain.
It didn't matter that these convicts were used as slaves, had already built over half of their houses and many had gone on to become respectable citizens, England still had to find somewhere else to send their criminals.
Fifty thousand convicts were shipped over to the new American colony and many helped build some of America's most famous buildings. It was only once the new country was well established that colonists started arguing with England over the arrival of so many convicts. They argued the American colony would never be respected on a world-wide scale if news of this ever got out!
It was time to do something about stopping them but England wouldn't stop. It was producing way too many criminals and according to the law, they had to be removed.
Then in 1775 until 1783, the War of American Independence broke out, this now absorbed British thoughts and energy into the struggle with the colonists and into the Maritime War which developed out of it. What could they do with their criminals now?
After so much time & effort was put into creating them, the British had lost the American colonies leaving the British Government and its people with little inclination to start all over again in the shape of a settlement in the Pacific.
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