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HISTORY
Bizarre Crimes You Could Be Transported To Australia For Committing
The harshness of history never fails to shock
It’s well known that the British judicial system of the past sent ‘criminals’ to the colonies as punishment. It is lesser known just how petty the crimes were. You would be forgiven for believing that only the worst of the worst received such a harsh punishment, murders, rapists or armed robbers, but this is not the case. The ‘crimes’ today are mostly considered petty misdemeanours, with little punishment necessary, definitely not a custodial sentence, certainly not banishment to far away lands.
One of the worst parts of ‘transportation’ is that you were often lucky to be shipped off. Prior to this form of punishment, the death penalty was favoured more often than not. It was seen by the law-makers of the time as a mercy for those individuals who committed more minor crimes to be cast away to the new world.
Once you were sent away, you were unlikely to return, even if your sentence was only a few years. This was because the government only funded the ferry trip to Australia and not a return ticket. Most prisoners were working class and could never hope to save enough to get home. So in a way you could consider transportation as a life sentence, you would likely never…
