Convicts being rowed out to a prison hulk.

Prison hulk.

Repro ID: PW6122

Description: 'Rogues, vagabonds and beggars' had been transported out of Britain, mostly to America, since the 1600s. Some were sent to the Caribbean for up to twenty-one years and used as virtual slave labour on the plantations. The American Revolutionary War (1775-83) stopped Britain off-loading convicts in America. Instead, old warships were used as prisons, a 'temporary measure' which lasted over eighty years. From the late 1780s, convicts were shipped to Australia in increasingly large numbers until the mid-19th century.

Creator: G. Cooke (engraver): S. Prout (artist): after W.H. Harriot (artist)

Date: 18th century

Credit line: National Maritime Museum, London