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Cannibalism amongst penitentiary escapees from Sarah Island in nineteenth century Van Diemen’s Land

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-19, 16:57 authored by Byard, RW, Hamish Maxwell-StewartHamish Maxwell-Stewart
Alexander Pearce was an Irish convict incarcerated on Sarah Island on the west coast of Van Diemen’s Land (modern day Tasmania, Australia) in 1822, following his transportation to the colony from the United Kingdom for seven years in 1819. On two occasions he escaped from the island, in September 1822 and again in November 1823, and was only able to survive the harsh conditions by killing and consuming his fellow escapees. Given that Pearce utilized the only sustenance that was at hand (i.e. his five companions), and that there was a temporal separation between the two episodes, this may represent a separate category of anthropophagy, that of serial opportunistic cannibalism.

Funding

Australian Research Council

Roar Film Pty Ltd

History

Publication title

Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology

Pagination

1-6

ISSN

1547-769X

Department/School

School of Humanities

Publisher

Humana Press, Inc.

Place of publication

United States

Rights statement

Copyright 2017 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Expanding knowledge in human society

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