2. Poverty and Crime in
England
Cities in England during
the mid-1700’s were
overcrowded. Many people
lived in poverty without
homes, jobs, food, or even
toilets! That means the
streets were filthy and filled
with sewage, making it
easy for people to get sick.
Rats were everywhere too,
3. Poverty and Crime in
England
Due to these awful living
conditions, many people
turned to thieving or looting
to survive. This meant
stealing food from markets,
taking money out of
people’s pockets, or
breaking into houses to rob
the upper class of their
prized possessions.
4. England’s criminals
The English government decided it
needed tougher laws in order to control
the rising levels of crime within the
country.
This means more and more people
got caught, arrested, and thrown into
prison, where the living conditions
were just as bad.
6. Prison Hulks
So crowded in fact, that old naval ships
and vessels had to start holding convicts
too! These floating prisons were called
‘hulks’ and were anchored to the seabed
so that they couldn’t float away.
7. Conditions on the Prison Hulks
Initially the hulks would hold 150
to 200 prisoners each, but as
more people kept getting
convicted, these numbers grew
to almost 300 per hulk!
The convicts would often eat
moldy meals, wear rotten,
unwashed clothing, and have to
sleep on the floor in crowded
cells. Disease and death were
8. Leaving for Australia
In 1787 British
Parliament decided to
start sending ships full of
convicts to New South
Wales in Australia to
combat their crowded
situation.
The First Fleet consisted
of eleven ships which
held
9. References
Slide 1: Image of ship retrieved from http://firstfleetfellowship.org.au/ships/eleven-ships/
Slide 2: Image ‘A Day in Eighteenth-Century London’ retrieved from
https://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/18century/welcome.htm
Image of rat (right) retrieved from http://www.pestcontrolempire.com.au/rodent-control-melbourne/
Slide 3: Image of pickpocketing retrieved from https://janeaustenslondon.com/walking-jane-austens-london-the-book/
Slide 4: Image of prison cell retrieved from http://www.samakowlaw.com/radio-show/prison-overcrowding-dwi-medical-malpractice/
Image of prison keys retrieved from http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-22712-worn-ring-of-prison-keys.aspx
Slide 5: Image of overcrowded prison retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison#/media/File:Coldbath-fields-oakum-room-
mayhew-p301.jpg
Slide 6: Image of rows of anchored hulks retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-134159411/view
Image of rowboat and prison hulk retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135221131/view
Slide 7: Image of sick convict retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135886659/view
Slide 8: Image of crowded cells onboard a hulk retrieved from http://weldersdog.com/Jewel.html
Image of ship retrieved from http://www.fellowshipfirstfleeters.org.au/ships.html
All other images retrieved from stock imagery and commercial use sources.
