Enrollment options
Optional Print Course Material: Australian: Convict Records
*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.
A study of convict records includes some discussion of the British legal system and the conditions that led to convicts being transported to the colonies of Australia. Governments kept copious records at all stages of their control of the convicts and these provide more information about the convicts in Australia than for free settlers of the same period.
The passage of convicts through the legal system may be traced from their trials and imprisonment, transportation, the convict administration in the colonies, as well as their various assignments until the eventual end of their imprisonment (by death or freedom).
In addition, the course includes some records of the changing attitudes toconvict heritage and the impact that has on the records that are available.
Course Length: 7 weeks
MODULE 1
INTRODUCTION
Where to Start?
Historical Background
British Penal Colony in Australia
Legal Terms
MODULE 2
TRIAL AND TRANSPORTATION
Introduction
Trial Records
Petitions and Pardons
Transportation
MODULE 3
LIFE IN AN AUSTRALIAN PENAL COLONY
Introduction
Colonial Secretary’s Correspondence
Indents and Assignments
Musters and Censuses
Female Convicts
Children
Bank Accounts
MODULE 4
REOFFENDING IN THE PENAL COLONIES
Colonial Offences
Castle Hill Rebellion 1804
Gazettes and Newspapers
MODULE 5
LEAVING THE CONVICT SYSTEM
Tickets of Leave
Certificate of Freedom
Pardons
Deaths
Escapes
Convict-Aboriginal Relationships
Exiles
Departing Passengers
MODULE 6
CONVICT IMPACT
Introduction
Mariners and Ships in Australian Waters
Military
Changing Attitude to Convicts
Other Sources of Convict Information