correction web quest Australia
AUSTRALIA : A PENAL COLONY : WEB QUEST
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penal_colony
1. What is a penal colony ?
Scroll down to the section entitled « British Empire ».
2. Was Australia the first penal colony Britain ever had ? Why did they have to find another place ?
No, it was not. The first one was the North America. After the Americas became independent, the motherland had to find another place to send their convicts.
3. What was the particularity of Irish and Scottish convicts ?
They were deported after rebellions took place in those areas and many of them were women and children.
4. Give other names of British penal colonies .
The Bermudas, the Adaman Islands and Hijli.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convicts_in_Australia
Read the section :REASONS FOR TRANSPORTATION
5. What were the living conditions like in the UK in 19th-century England ?
The living conditions were extremely hard. There was a lot of poverty and people who had fled the countryside to go and work in towns lived in squalid conditions there. Many of them stole to have something to eat.
6. What strikes* you the most in what you've just read ?
The Bloody Codes strike me. How could they list 222 crimes which could lead to death penalty ?
7. Would you say that only extremely dangerous criminals were transported to Australia.
No, you could be transported for only petty crimes.
http://www.fremantleprison.com.au/Pages/default.aspx
Clic on the history section in the menu bar and choose « the Convict Era ».
Are the following statements right or wrong ? Justify your answer quoting from the text.
( the statements are in the order of the text)
8. The place has always been called Fremantle prison.
W. The Swan River settlement was established as a free colony in 1829.
9. The first people transportated there built their own prison.
R the Convict Establishment, was built by convict labour between 1852 and 1859
10. The settlement was thriving* even before the arrival of the convicts.
W It was slow to develop mainly due to the inhospitable nature of the land
11. The settlers were not expecting the first cargo of convicts because they never asked to have any.
W The colony was completely unprepared for their arrival as the ship carrying this human cargo overtook the ship carrying the dispatch containing news of this event
12. It was only in 1855 that the convicts could be locked in the prison.
R Work on the prison itself began in 1852 and by 1855 enough of the main cell block, perimeter walls and service buildings were complete for the convicts to be transferred to the site.
13. When the motherland stopped deporting people, only a few hundred convicts had been sent to Swan River Settlement.
W By the time transportation ceased in 1868, just over 9,700 convicts had been transported to Western Australia
14. After the prison in Perth closed down, all its female inmates* were sent to Fremantle.
W The Perth Gaol (built by convicts in the 1850s) was closed and all of its inmates, including the women,
Crime and punishment.
15. What do you learn about punishments before 1700s ?
They used to public. The crowd went to attend to the hangings, the floggings and the burnings.
16. Describe very briefly the leg irons.
Leg irons were circles of metal that were placed on the inmates' ankles. They were tied together by a chain and they made it difficult to walk and impossible to run.
17. Who was condemned to solitary confinement ? Describe what is was like.
Those who were condemned to solitary confinement were those who had tried to escape. It was very harsh. The inmates were kept in windowless cells and were given nothing else that bread and water.
18. How many lashes could convicts be subjected to ?
Up to 100.
Escape stories.
19. Why was it difficult for inmates to abscond ?
Yes it was since the prison was surrounded by the desert. Once they had succeded in escaping, they had to survive in a dangerous and extreme