To what extent is the growth of Australia indebted to the presence of its transported convicts?
BY LUCY MCBURNEY
INTRODUCTION Modern Australia owes an enormous debt to its convict ancestors. Politically, socially and economically, the convicts contributed a huge amount to the growth of this nation. Arguably, convicts contributed most to Australia in political terms, principally due to the large majority of convicts being transported for political dissent.Therefore this new-found land became a hub for revolutionary political ideas and ultimately became the world’s most developed democratic constitution during the 19th century. However, there is no denying that convicts subsidised Australia economically too, although free settlers and the ruling class played a greater role in triggering the lucrative economy. Convicts also significantly aided social developments in the penal colony - they aligned themselves with revolutionary ideas of the time, turning Australia into one of the most equal societies regarding gender.Yet, they were limited by their lack of commitment to acknowledging ethnic equality or by accepting the neighbouring Indigenous tribes. Overall, political developments were the most significant advancements attributable to convicts, as they were not aided by free settlers or the ruling class in this regard, fighting for their rights alone. In this report, I expand on the propositions above and outline the main areas in which British convicts dispatched to Australia made a significant, positive contribution, and consequently the impact they have had towards the ultimate success of Australia today. I begin my report by explaining the origins of transportation, as the passage of convicts was the way in which Australia was able to become a fully established civilisation.This understanding is essential to fully appreciate the themes that I then discuss within the report. I analyse the impact of convicts on the development of
Australia, measuring their influence upon the social, political and finally the economic developments of the country, all of which have shaped the Australian identity to this day.The development of Australia relied on these three factors evolving simultaneously, and they were also undoubtedly co-dependent. For the majority of my project, I have analysed cohesively, comparing the activities of convicts with the likes of free settlers and the governing class in an integrated format.The section addressing the social impact of convicts contains the largest amount of analysis, given the breadth of the research and my particular aim to research the role of gender within the penal colonies. I firstly analyse gender issues by social class and reach an interim conclusion in relation to gender, and then examine the evidence in relation to issues of ethnic equality and the lasting impact of the ‘convict stain’. Having analysed them individually, I finally conclude by comparing the three key criteria – social, political and economic influences - to identify what, I believe, is the most significant area of success attributable to Australia’s convicts. TRANSPORTATION Transportation overseas was first introduced into English Law as a punishment for a copious array of criminal offences by the Elizabethan Act of 1598.The most common explanation for transportation was theft – including pickpocketing, shoplifting, stealing horses and sheep, highway robbery, housebreaking and receiving stolen goods. Even the pettiest of crimes, such as stealing a handkerchief, was deemed a transportable offence. Surprisingly, the more dangerous criminals were not sentenced to transportation as often as petty criminals. Crimes such as rape, manslaughter, murder,
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