Colonial Labour Exploitation and the Patriot Exiles

Eighty-eight Patriot Exiles were transported to Van Diemen's Land in the wake of the abortive Canadian rebellions of 1837-38. In their published accounts these prisoners railed against the injustice of transportation and the brutality meted out to them. They charged the Governor of Van Diemen's Land, John Franklin, who they thought had singled them out for particularly savage treatment. Contrasting their experiences with those of the British and Irish criminals who they were forced to work alongside, they complained that they were particularly hard done by. This paper uses data drawn from a longitudinal sample of convict records to place the Patriot claims within comparative perspective.