Page 82 - All About History - Issue 33-15

A-Z of the British Empire

Penal Colonies Queen Victoria Raj

Theempirehadmanyprisoners Thelong-standingqueenwhowas Thesuccessortocompanyrule,
thatallneededtobelockedup famous for being not amused theRajwasaneweraforIndia
Perhapsoneofthemostefficient QueenVictoriaruledBritaininan In1858,thefalteringEastIndia
usesofAmericafortheBritish eraofprosperityandrelative Company was relieved of its
Empirewasitsroleasahugeprison. peace. Her rule coincided with a political duties after the Indian
An estimated, 50,000 of the empire’s long period named ‘Pax Rebellion and British India
convicts were sent to the New World, Britannica’, where Britain became came into the hands of the
making up a quarter of all British theleadingempireoftheworld. BritishCrown.TheRajdidn’t
settlers during the 1700s. The first Victoria married her German coverthewholeofIndiaand
convicts were sent over in 1718 under the cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in instead ruled over approximately two-fifths of the
government’snewTransportationAct,which 1840 and the couple went on to reign over an subcontinent. A succession of British viceroys ruled
introduced mass penal transportation to what are immensely popular monarchy. The Victorian age is India,asthearearemainedaneconomicand
now the states of Virginia and Maryland. When the remembered for industrial expansion and military asset to Britain. 20 per cent of Britain’s
13 colonies were lost after the American Revolution, economic progress, but also development in the exportswenttoIndiaandmanyIndianswere
Britainneededtocreatemorepenalcoloniestolock artsandscience,suchastheGreatExhibitionof assumed into the British Army. 20,000 troops and
awayitscriminals.Initially,manyoftheconvicts 1851.Britainfunctionedasaconstitutional officials ruled over 300 million Indians. Eventually
were held upon ships (prison hulks) on the River monarchy with the queen occasionally having an thelocalpopulationbegantoresentBritishrule,as
Thamesandforcedtocleantheriver,butthiswas input in politics. itoftenleftthempoorandunfedwithempire
notalong-termsolution.In1786,ananswerwas Conflictbrokeoutin1854intheformofthe profitsandambitionputfirst.TheIndianNational
found,andpenalcoloniesweresetupinAustralia, Crimean War. The conflict saw the first awarding Congresswasformedin1885,givingthenativesan
the Caribbean, India and Singapore. oftheVictoriaCrossin1856,amedal intellectual and centralised voice. The
TheBritishEmpirewasbynomeanstheonly that would become the pinnacle of organisation helped aid the rise of Mahatma
empiretoutilisepenalcolonies,butitdidoversee military achievement in Britain. Gandhi in the early 20th century and get
some of the most extensive. The theory was Domestically, Britain advanced Seven thenationontheroadto
that criminals could provide cheap labour on rapidlywiththeindustrial assassination independence, which was eventually
plantations and workhouses while being totally revolution in full flow. In 100 attempts were achieved in 1947.
disconnectedfromtherestofthepopulace.Itall years, the population grew
changedin1779asthePenitentiaryActauthorised from 16 to 41 million. made on Victoria’s
theopeningofstateprisonsthataimedatending life between 1840
corruption in jails. The introduction of penal and 1882
colonieswasanambitiousprojectbuteasedthe
pressureontheempireandwasasustainable
solution to Britain’s huge amount of convicts.

ViceroyLordCanningmeets
MaharajaRanbirSinghin1860
as talks are held to extend British
progress through upper India

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