Transportation to the American Colonies, Execution Rates and the ‘Bloody Code’, 1675–1775

Abstract

This article argues that the transportation of British convicts to America limited Bloody Code implementation by dominating sentencing practices. The analysis employs the Old Bailey Online, newspapers, runaway slave advertisements, and ballads. These sources reveal that the secondary punishment which removed criminals, yet made use of them in a foreign country, was key to limiting executions between 1675–1775, undermining arguments that the Code collapsed suddenly in the 1820s. However, in doing so, transportation extended the legislation’s stay in the statute books, as literal enforcement would have uncovered complete unsustainability, warranting earlier deconstruction. This was exposed after the colonial secession as imprisonment and executions peaked, generating numerous issues before Australian transportation’s introduction restored the secondary option. Meanwhile, contemporary newspapers represented transportees as incorrigible felons, yet the Old Bailey Online reveals most were youthful minor offenders possessing useful characteristics. Transportation’s primary motivations were imperial and commercial, challenging arguments that it was merciful and reformative. The transatlantic convict trade bore similarities to slavery as it prioritised profitability, and transportees suffered terrible conditions, causing hundreds to flee despite low chances of escape. Contemporary perceptions that transportation was an ineffective deterrent are discredited, as its assimilation into popular culture shows it was a well-feared punishment.