Australian History Essay

The British preferred colonial North America and used it as a penal colony under the indentured servitude system. A penal colony is a type of settlement in which prisoners are exiled in remote locations, resulting in their exclusion from the normal population. The exile was often on islands or at distant colonial territories where the governors or wardens had absolute authority over them. Historically, the penal colonies facilitated penal labor primarily in parts of the state which were economically underdeveloped, for instance, colonial territories and prison farms. By far much, the penal colonies were a bit more than slave communities. It led to the arrival of the last convict ship in Western Australia, on 10th January 1868. In this paper, my primary focus will be on the objectives of the secondary penal settlements.

I will then focus on the extents to which there was the fulfillment of goals. Finally, I will conclude by giving my view concerning the issue. Objectives of the Secondary Penal Settlements 1) Expansion of Spheres of Influence First, transportation was viewed as a strategic tool which would facilitate influence due to the increase of home state spheres. The first group of convicts arrived in Botany Bay after getting banned from England. In the 18th century, there were beliefs that criminals were inherently defective thus they could not be rehabilitated. As a result, the best option available was separating them from the law-abiding citizens. Captain Arthur Philip took part in the establishment of the first penal colony, and there was the transportation of the first group of convicts.

Moreover, the convict's life in the criminal settlements was very tough. Thus there were high death tolls. 4 The Europeans managed to abandon the gallows public and visible punishments, resulting in the development of transportation sectors in minimisation of crimes. In case a prisoner committed a crime, he or she was not subjected to the punishment systems, but rather to physical punishments regarding discipline, surveillance and obligating them to the moral and mental regimes. In the 1840s, there was a moral transgression and contamination of the penal settlement men. They were subjected to any brutality like murder, and homosexuality to serve as punishment. There were suggestions from Manning Clark in 1973 that terror was the type of connection between the servants and masters.

On the other hand, the convict society was represented by David Neal as having a repressive and harsh penal system. We can confidently say that the primary objective was punishment in disregard of their cultural practices. 5 5) Gender Relations Around 165,000 convicted prisoners were transported to Australia In 1787 to 1869. Among those, the number of women was about 25,000, and we regarded as involuntary exiles. If gender imbalance is present within any society, there would be slow transitions from penal colonies and the moral and cultural concerns would not be fulfilled. Achievements After transformation of more convicts to the penal colonies, the population increased hence there was the provision of more cheap labour. Once the slaves migrated and settled in Australia, they became Commonwealth of Australia.

On arrival of the convicts, European infrastructure; farms, parklands, gardens, churches, roads, communication means, private or public buildings and churches were very poor. They were able to produce a lot of skills which facilitated high economic development and growth in Australia. The Europeans also aimed at expanding more penal settlements. They managed to do so in that, the VDL and NSW assisted in the transition of penal colonies to more vibrant ones. A prosperous economy was established after the transformation of WA, thus raising the country's Net Income. There was the conversion of Norfolk Island into a more flourishing settlement area which could accommodate more prisoners. It led to the provision of more cheap and reliable labour; hence more goods were exported at high prices.

In 1834, there was establishment of Point Puer by Arthur, so as to facilitate hardening and rehabilitation of the adult convicts. After that, there was establishment of other juvenile institutions like Parkhurst Prison in Britain and the La Petite Roquette in France. A system of religious organisation, segregation, elementary education and labour was created to facilitate the change of immoral behaviours within the convict boys. 9 Conclusion From the above information, it is evident that the penal settlements had come up with objectives, and most of them were achieved. Australian Convict Sites facilitated major global developments and ideas during that era. history. com/this-day-in-history/first-australian-penal-colony-established. Accessed December 29, 2017. Chartrand V. Penal and colonial politics over life: women and penal release schemes in NSW, Australia.