Convicts came from all walks of life; the majority lacked education and had been driven into crime in order to live; they were transferred to Van Diemen's Land as a result of Britain's quickly overcrowded prisons. While many of their crimes were minor, such as stealing a sheep or some clothing, there were also educated convicts with skills that enabled them to work as clerks or draughtsmen, or with training in fields such as medicine, architecture, printing, or construction âall of which were necessary for establishing a new colony. For the first ten years of British settlement in Van Diemen's Land, there were more convicts than free settlers. This meant that convicts were required to fill positions of responsibility in the gaols, such as medical assistants or âtrusties.â Many convicts, particularly women, were assigned to settlers as servants.
Unknown artist, around 1938, published as a postcard
Convicts were compelled laborers, and compulsion naturally engendered resistance. Convict protests followed distinct patterns, ranging from union-style activity to more subtle malingering. The colonial discipline to which they were subjected criminalized behavior that would have elicited a minor reprimand among free laborers, increasing the danger of prisoners accruing colonial penalties (âstatus crimesâ). They faced onerous physical punishments, such as the lash, as a result of the naval setting of transportation, with subsequent practice favoring further incarceration and solitary imprisonment. However, they were handed incentives as well. They were particularly well nourished, with the prisoner diet providing daily calories more than double what English laborers expected. Employers who are astute provided much more. Allowing prisoners to achieve remission over time proven itself to be the most effective labor management tool available.
John Walker, a Scottish botanist and professor of natural history, was one of Banks' correspondents. Walker described botany as one of the âfew Sciencesâ that âcan guarantee any discovery or improvementâ. Botany was the scientific tool by which empires arose to dominate the worldwide bazaar of goods. Botany was also the reason why Banks and Solander were not required to certify that the field on which they walked was unoccupied. For their science, in a very real sense, presupposed it. The country, its vegetation, and its inhabitants were theirs to name and thereby claim via âdiscovery.â
Today, there is less tangible trace of Brisbane's early years. When the town was allowed to free settlement, people decided they didn't want any reminders of the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement, and the majority of buildings erected by convicts were demolished. Even the majestic, colossal Moreton Bay fig trees that formerly adorned the city have been removed. They had formerly been employed as flogging trees, where it was customary to get 100 lashes for "crimes" such as dressing inappropriately or having a foul attitude. Today, just two structures survive.
