Category:Self-Government by the Convicts

Background

Few of the convicts would have written a journal on the outward voyage. And of these, very few have survived. The earliest to have done so is the journal of William Noah, who sailed on the Hillsborough in 1798. This is the first time that we are provided with an opportunity to experience the voyage from inside the convict quarters.

It is probably not by accident, then, that the Hillsborough is the first vessel where we encounter the convicts organising themselves for the purpose of regulating their affairs and ensuring that they are provided with their rightful share of the rations.

When one of their number stole a watch belonging to the inspector of convict ships, Sir Jeremiah Fitzpatrick, who was regarded as a friend of the convicts, the prisoners organised a court or tribunal to force the offender to hand it back.

And when they felt that they had been denied their fair share of rations, they organised collective protests, refusing to take any provisions until the deficiency was corrected. These protests continued throughout the voyage, and with very few exceptions, the captain responded to their concerns.

While it is unlikely that the convicts organised themselves in this way on every voyage, there was no doubt a great deal more collective action than the official records reveal. From the perspective of the ship's captain or the naval agent, this would have come across as insolent, even mutinous, conduct.

It is a field deserving of a great deal more attention.

- Gary L. Sturgess, 12 February 2016