I know, but it is more interesting than migration. Makes for better stories. And even back in the days, they were petty criminals, often the crime was being poor, or stealing something very minor to feed their kids.

@Rugglesby there has been some debate about that. Were they Jean val jean types stealing bread, or serious criminals. I think many were serious criminals. Why go to the trouble of transporting petty criminals. I'll check on that.

@David1955 serious criminal would have been hung? Remember the prison barges clogging up the Thames.

@Rugglesby I concede the point. A little checking today I found that amongst the first fleeters were some highway robbers and some more serious crims amongst the petty crooks, but you're right that crimes like murder, rape and alike brought the rope.

Hence posting this in "silly, random and fun".....

You're right about the purpose behind the establishment of the colonies, as out of the 13, only 5 (Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Maryland) were founded for stated religious purposes. And two of those six (Connecticut and Rhode Island) were founded by former Massachusetts Bay (Puritan) colonists! The primary reason for all, however, was opportunity.

As far as prisoner 'dumping,' while it's true that the American colonies were the unfortunate recipients of some 52,000 convicts, the estimated population of the 13 colonies in 1775 was 2.4 million inhabitants. Australia, on the other hand, had a population in 1840 of only 190,000, but had by that time received roughly 150,000 prisoners. It's fairly clear to see how Australia's reputation would have differed from America's, based on the ratios of colonists to convicts.

Hence posting this in "silly, random and fun".....