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Black Velvet Band

In 1803, another penal colony

was established in Van

Diemen’s Land (modern-day

Tasmania). The penal

servitude system continued

there and in other parts of the

world into the early 20^th

Century. The Potato Blight (an

Gorta Mór 1845-1847) only

exacerbated the overcrowding

problems in the British prisons

when millions of people

crowded into British seaports

such as Liverpool to escape

starvation and death.

A group of Transported Prisoners to Van Diemen’s Land in 1830.

Convicts were generally treated harshly, forced to work against their will and doing

hard physical labor in dangerous jobs. In some cases, they were cuffed and

chained in work gangs. Seven years of “penal servitude” was a common practice,

and they were applied to trivial crimes, such as petty theft, or even stealing a loaf of

bread to feed a hungry family.

Prison ships had segregated sections

designed to classify types of criminals

being transported depending upon the

severity of the crime. First time

offenders were assigned in the “Star

Class.” Criminals with less serious

convictions were placed into the

“Intermediate Class,” and habitual

offenders were placed into the

“Recidivist Class.”

An etching of a prison ship (The Neptune) that transported prisoners to the

colonies.

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