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I have written before
about convicts and such but yesterday I was watching a show called
Convict Women and Orphan Girls which has made me want to write a
little about them again. Between 1787-1868 over 166,000 people were
transported as convicts to this great country, 25,000 of them were
female and over half of those were Irish.
Some convict women
brought their children with them but I wonder if they knew what type
of life these children would have here would they still have wanted
them to come with them. Children under the age of 3yrs could stay
with their mothers but once they reached the age of 3 they were sent
to the Orphan Schools where they stayed till the age of 12-14 when
they were apprenticed out.
These so called schools
gave little education and treated the children so bad that they had a
high mortality rate twice what was normal for the times.
Convict women were
regarded as breeding stock and generally thought of as prostitutes
many were not prostitutes before they arrived here and only turned to
it as a way of surviving. These women were transported for such
minor crimes such as stealing a potato or a pot lid, some women
during the Irish Famine would set fires in order to be arrested and
transported as a way of getting food and surviving.
There was also over
4,000 Irish orphan girls sent to Australia because the ratio was 9 or
10 men to every female and more females were needed, these orphan
girls were free migrants and most married within 2 years of arriving
and raised families.
Interesting 90% of the
females transported here stayed and married and raised families in
Australia compared to only 25% of males transported, I don't know
what the other 75% of the males did maybe they returned to England or
Ireland I just don't know the show didn't say.
Interesting Jo-Anne.
ReplyDeleteShortage of food etc. made so many people way back then do things they normally wouldn't do.
That is for sure
DeleteThat is so fascinating. It sounds like these women and children's lives were made so much worse by being shipped over to Australia. :(
ReplyDeleteThe children more so I reckon separated from their mothers and treated so badly
DeleteThis was interesting and sad at the same time. Thanks for writing me - I have lost my addresses and now I have yours! sandie
ReplyDeleteYes I thought it was interesting and sad
DeleteI read Leon Uris' Trinity twice. I cannot imagine how the British slept at night the way they treated the Irish.
ReplyDeleteI know they treated the terrible
DeleteSad to think what women and children had to endure in an attempt to survive back then.
ReplyDeletethe critters in the cottage xo
I agree, to think that women fought to bring their children with them only to get here and be separated
DeleteThis piece saddens me. Mankind has treated each other badly since the beginning of time.
ReplyDelete