Female Convicts in the American Colonies

In 1721, Mary North consented to become a subject in an experiment testing smallpox inoculation rather than be transported back to the American colonies. It is not clear why North consented to this dangerous experiment, but the fact that she would rather do so than be sent back to America provides some insight into the experiences of female forced convict labor in the eighteenth century.

Between the passage of the Transportation Act in 1718 and the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1776, over 4800 women were sentenced to transportation in London alone. Given that the sentence of transportation was used as a conditional pardon for a number of offences, this number is undoubtedly higher. The experiences of these women, however, has been obscured by their lower numbers in relation to men sentenced to transportation, by mistaken assumptions about an unwillingness to punish women, and by the association of English convict labor Australia.

            This paper will examine women sentenced to transportation in the American colonies by asking questions about who these women were, what their experiences were like when they reached the colonies, and what popular attitudes were towards female convict laborers. In order to answer these questions the paper will draw on a variety of sources including the Old Bailey Papers, execution pamphlets for those women who returned from transportation, and petitions for pardon. In drawing on these records, this paper will demonstrate the unique experiences of female convicts and where they fit into the larger criminal Atlantic.