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Revisiting Linus Miller's 'dark picture of Van Diemen's Land'

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 16:28 authored by Hamish Maxwell-StewartHamish Maxwell-Stewart
One of the most evocative accounts of convict life in Van Diemen's Land was provided by the young Patriot Exile Linus Miller who was transported on the Canton in 1840. While Miller had praise for some of the British officials that he encountered during his service as a convict he was generally critical of the British transportation system which he compared to slavery. Miller's description of the probation system was particularly vitriolic and he had little doubt that overwork and poor rations shortened many convict lives. This article tests these claims by using comparative data for convists, slaves and prisoners. In particular it seeks to critically assess Miller's assertion that incarceration in the American or British penitentiary system had more humane outcomes than transportation to the Australian penal colonies.

History

Publication title

Australasian Canadian Studies

Volume

29

Issue

1-2

Pagination

101-116

ISSN

1832-5408

Department/School

School of Humanities

Publisher

Association for Canadian Studies in Australia and New Zealand

Place of publication

Australia

Rights statement

Copyright 2012 Australasian Canadian Studies

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Understanding Australia’s past

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