forgery and even bigamy were less frequently punished by transportation (Hawkins, 2012). Additional Government Acts passed in 1664, 1666 and 1718 authorised the transportation of felons to the new-found land of British America. For the majority of the next two consecutive centuries, convicts were shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to Virginia, Barbados and other residences under the British dominion. However, the American revolt and subsequent Declaration of Independence in 1776 ruptured the rhythm of British transportation, and consequently the popularity of convict haulage gradually fell into
disuse (Hawkins, 2012). In the wake of the war,America was no longer a suitable terminus to house British convicts and a replacement settlement was yet to be identified. Consequently, domestic prisons quickly became oversubscribed and congested, which led to the establishment of prison hulks: disused warships, intended to be a temporary refuge for criminals sentenced to transportation (Hawkins, 2012). Following the rout in the American Revolution in 1783, the population aboard hulks rose sharply, from 500 men in 1779 to nearly 2000 in 1783 (The National Archives, 2009).
This image depicts a ‘Convict Hulk’ in Woolwich from the ‘Illustrated London News’ (1846) – the drawing captures the dark, brutal, demoralising nature of these hulks.Whilst they were originally established as a temporary solution, confirmed by the 1776 Hulk Act, they continued in existence until the mid-19th century.
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