Bound with an Iron Chain: The Untold Story of how the British Transported 50,000 Convicts to Colonial AmericaIn 1723, James Bell grabbed a book from a London bookstall and started to run, but he was chased by several witnesses and was discovered hiding in a dog kennel. As punishment for his crime, Bell was loaded on a ship and sent to colonial America, where he was sold at auction as an indentured servant for a seven-year term. Most people know that England shipped thousands of convicts to Australia, but few are aware that colonial America was the original destination for Britain's unwanted criminals. In the 18th century, thousands of British convicts like Bell were separated from their families, chained together in the hold of a ship, and carried off to America. What happened to these convicts once they arrived? Did they eventually prosper in an environment of unlimited opportunity, or were they ostracized by other colonists and doomed to live in poverty? Anthony Vaver tells the stories of the petty thieves and professional criminals who were subjected to this unique punishment, and in bringing to life this forgotten chapter in American history, he challenges the way we think about immigration to early America. The book also includes an appendix with tips on researching individual convicts who were transported to America. |
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
Contents
10 | |
Mary Young a k a Jenny Diver | 24 |
The Private Face of Jonathan Wild | 37 |
William Thomson and Jonathan Wild | 57 |
The Preferred Destination for Convicts | 70 |
Bristol and Other Firms | 80 |
Convict Attitudes toward Transportation | 97 |
Passengers on the Jonathan | 110 |
On the Plantation | 169 |
The Ironworks | 183 |
The Reaction of American Colonists | 202 |
The End of Convict | 220 |
Convict Hulks | 235 |
Successes and Failures | 250 |
Notes | 265 |
309 | |
Common terms and phrases
18th century Account American colonies Annapolis Anthony Lamb Bailey Proceedings Online Baltimore Boundfor America Britain British Convict British government captain Chesapeake Coldham colonial America Colonists in Bondage committed Convict Labor convict merchants convict servants convict ship Convict Trade convict transportation court crime criminal justice system CWDL Dalton Database death ECCO Edward Higgins Ellard Emigrants in Chains England execution felons found guilty gang Higgins History Howson hulks indentured servants iron jails James James Dalton January John Jonathan Wild Kaminkow land London Mary Young Maryland and Virginia Maryland Gazette Moll Flanders Morgan Newgate Prison number of convicts offenders ofthe Old Bailey Proceedings passengers plantation owners planters pounds prison hulks Proceedings Online www.oldbaileyonline.org profit received robbery Roger Ekirch runaway sentenced to transportation servitude Sheppard slaves Smith stealing stolen streets theft tobacco Transportation Act transportation to America transported convicts trial Tyburn University Press Virginia Gazette voyage Wild’s York