How many convict fleets came to australia

From January , when the First Fleet of convicts arrived at Botany Bay, to the end of convict transportation 80 years later, over , convicts were transported to Australia. Although convicts were transported to the colonies of New South Wales, Tasmania and Western Australia, many convicts ended up in other states or colonies, having been taken there by their assigned masters or by moving there after gaining their freedom.

Distant settlements such as Moreton Bay and Norfolk Island were also used as places of secondary punishment. You will need to trace your family history back to your family's arrival in Australia to discover whether you have convict ancestry.

A good starting point for convict research is the record of the convict's arrival in Australia. Of these, about arrived in alone. The convicts were transported as punishment for crimes committed in Britain and Ireland. In Australia their lives were hard as they helped build the young colony. When they had served their sentences, most stayed on and some became successful settlers. A great number of those whose terms have expired have turned settlers, some of whom are doing well, better than many farmers in England.

Convicts letter writing at Cockatoo Island N. State Library of New South Wales Transportation as a form of criminal punishment emerged in the British legal system from the early 17th century as an alternative to execution. Many crimes that today would be considered minor offences were punishable by hanging, and there were identified capital offences at the time. The American colonies were the main destination for convict transportation in the 18th century and a thriving business developed around the process.

British businessmen obtained contracts for transportation from local sheriffs. Prior to the legal processes behind transportation were obscure, as transportation itself was not a sentence but could be organised by indirect means.

The Transportation Act simplified and legitimised the process: convicts guilty of capital crimes but commuted by the king would receive 14 years transportation while those convicted of non-capital offences could receive seven years. Returning to England before the sentence was complete was a capital offence in itself.

The Act made transportation simpler and increased the number of convicts transported to America. More than 50, criminals had been transported by These convicts were instrumental in the early development of what became the United States of America.

With independence, America stopped accepting convicts from Britain. Comptroler Head of Convict Establishment and Convicts , Around one in seven convicts transported to Australia were women. They often suffered the toughest time in the Australian colonies.

An licence granted to Mary Atherton, detailing her conviction and transportation sentence. View the full record at Findmypast. If convicted in Britain, your ancestor would have appeared in front of their local magistrate to be sentenced.

View-in-full at Findmypast. Over , of them mention transportation. Many criminals who were sentenced to transportation never actually left Britain. You can also view lists of the officials, passengers and free women and children.

Find details about the treatment of female convicts during the voyage and the events that occurred in the first three months in the new colony, including comments on the behaviour of convicts and marines, encounters with Aboriginal people and the fauna and flora of the mainland.

View digitised version of Bowes Smyth's original journal. Find information about the lives of children on the First Fleet including what happened to them once they arrived. There were about 50 children on the First Fleet when it arrived in Sydney. Some were convicts, some were children of marines and others were born on the ship on the journey out. Read this biography of the people in the First Fleet. You can find information on where they ended up, if they owned land, got married, had children and more.

Find out about the daily activities of the settlement by reading these diary entries, letters, extracts from journals and ships logs.